Life Wars and Mazes
by psycho chibbi
Summary: After Wufei really pissed him off, Quatre leaves and is put on an undercover assignment. But he made the mistake of making friends with the enemy. *FINISHED*
1. I refuse to stay

Life War and Mazes by: a psycho chibbi named wendy!  
  
Hiya! I've been playing around with this one for a while, so tell me how ya like it.  
  
Warnings: Cussing, and mild violence. OOC in some parts, but I think it works. Rather tame, but very emotional.  
  
Yep, another depressing one!!  
  
Multipart fic!!!  
  
How many, who knows?  
  
Enjoy!  
  
~*~ chapter 1 ~*~  
  
"I don't care what you say, Wufei. I believe that this is knowledge that every person should know!" Quatre stated firmly as he fixed a glare at the Chinese boy.  
  
Wufei glared right back, he was being much more stubborn than usual today. "And I believe that this is a waste of time! Admit it, Winner, you know damn well that our time would be better spent training for battle, rather than fill our minds with these useless facts!" he spat out, ready to fight at a moment's notice.  
  
And the blonde knew well that that's all that the Chinese boy wanted right now. A good fight to help him focus his thoughts on his goals.  
  
But Quatre held firm to his own goals. "Wufei, it's the history of warfare! What better way of learning how battles work now than studying the way they used to be!?"  
  
"Because that's not how it is anymore, Quatre! Those tactics and equipment of that era are obsolete! No knowledge of how it works, or who won what meaningless little skirmish will make a difference, and hardly save our lives." Wufei stated bluntly as he cracked his knuckles as a signal that he had had enough.  
  
"Wouldn't it be better to prepare in case it does?! How the hell can we know what information could, or couldn't save our lives?!" Quatre asked suddenly. "For all we know things like this could help us get out of some sort of danger!" he insisted, hardly backing down from the silent threat.  
  
Duo, who had been watching the entire banter of the two pilots for the past half hour from the sofa, decided to speak out. "Guys! Chill! What's the big deal, Wu? Q just wants to give us a little history lesson. It's not like he's asking us to take up ballet." the braided boy pointed out. Then he chuckled at the thought of the Chinese boy in a pink tutu.  
  
Wufei sneered at the braided boy, then turned back to Quatre. "Knowing this poor excuse of a soldier, I wouldn't doubt it." he snorted and gave the blonde a disgusted look.  
  
Quatre clenched his fists tightly. He felt more angry than he had ever been in a long time. "Wufei, you're trying my patients...." he almost growled in warning.  
  
"Oh no, the poor little rich boy is going to throw a tantrum! What's wrong, little boy? Upset because you're not getting you're way?" Wufei laughed in his face, his tone thick with arrogance.  
  
This caused even Heero and Trowa to look up from where they were reading quietly in the two arm chairs at the front of the living room.  
  
Trowa frowned at the way Wufei was behaving. "Wufei, that was uncalled for...." The French boy trailed off when he noticed with surprise at the deadly look the blonde boy was getting on his pale face.  
  
He knew that look well.  
  
Heero also saw it, and slowly began to place his book down on the coffee table.  
  
Wufei, on the other hand, was too busy on his high and mighty trip, so continued. "No, I think it suits him perfectly. Quatre, we do not need to hear you lecture about useless trivia. We're not going to have a pop quiz. Maybe that's how it works where you're from, but we live in the real world. There are no private tutors, or servants that wait on us hand and foot. You have to come down off your pedestal, and walk on the ground like the rest of us. No one is going to baby you, and make everything happen for you when you snap your fingers." he proclaimed. He even snapped his own fingers for effect.  
  
Quatre's aqua eyes flared up at that. "I'm not like that...." he stated flatly. His nails were cutting into the flesh of his palms, almost to the point where they bled.  
  
Wufei still wouldn't quit. "Yes you are. All of you rich bastards are all like. Just because you have money and power makes you think that you can do whatever you like."  
  
Now Duo frowned deeply. "Shit, Wufei! Cut it out! Quatre's not like that at all!" he protested. He knew that his best friend would never do something like that.  
  
"Stay out of this, Maxwell!" Wufei growled at him before going back to the blonde. "I've been waiting a long time to say this to you, and I'm not stopping till I'm done." He smirked evilly and placed his hands on his hips. "Tell me, Quatre... Why did you become a gundam pilot? Were all the formal dress parties, and operas getting dull? Did you think that this was something different that might be a bit more exciting? Tell me, how many people did you have to bribe in order to be a pilot? How much of your vast amount of resources did you have to use in order to convince the doctors that you could fight?" he asked. Wufei loved the flustered look that the blonde was getting.  
  
But Quatre was beyond flustered.  
  
He was mad as hell.  
  
He gritted his teeth and breathed in deeply before he gave an answer. "I was chosen because of my skill, nothing else." Quatre said slowly as he tried to control his anger.  
  
"Skill?!" Wufei shot out in a laugh. "What skill? You're a second rate pilot, and are only doing this for the cheap thrills. You say you're helping others, but you're only trying to make yourself feel better, and make yourself look good to other people. You don't care about any of those people that we're trying to protect. You only care about yourself, just like all the other snotty upper class bitches." Then another thought flashed in his mind. "Hn, bitches.... Not far off, I'd say. Tell me, how are all of your sisters doing? Do they leach off your daddy's money like you, or do they find other ways of working for it." he asked half laughing.  
  
The blonde's eyes grew wide, then narrowed deeply. "You fucking bastard!" he snarled out, and pounced forward.  
  
Before Wufei could react, Quatre reared back his fist, and plowed it right into the Chinese boy's face with all of his strength.  
  
Wufei's head snapped back roughly, and flew backwards at the sheer force of the blow. He landed heavily on his back, and was in a daze for several moments before he was able to look up at a fuming Quatre.  
  
His chest heaved, and normally gentle eyes wild, his voice came out in a low growl when he spoke. "You can mock me, degrade me, even beat the hell out of me, but don't you ever... Ever disrespect my family. My family has worked hard to earn every cent we have, and my father died trying to save our home from those so-called 'people' and their own stupidity. If you didn't like me, or the way I was raised, you should have just told me so, and I would have left without protest..." he stated in a deadly quiet tone that made Heero's look like nothing.  
  
Unable to say anything, Wufei looked up at the blonde with a shocked expression on his face. He never thought that Quatre would snap like that, let alone the strength that was in that punch. He was nearly positive that one, if not more, of his teeth had been knocked loose, not to mention his busted lip that was bleeding steadily onto his white clothes.  
  
When he didn't respond, the blonde continued. "I have never once gotten something that I didn't earn for myself, and no one has ever babied me. I am just as capable as anyone else to do things on my own, and I deserve to be a pilot just as much as the rest of you here." He turned away from the boy on the floor and bowed his head. "All I wanted was to help, but since you are obviously so against it, I'll leave." he said in a calmer tone, and made his way for the door.  
  
Frozen, they all watched him walk away, barely able to believe what had just happened.  
  
Kind little Quatre just decked Wufei, told him off, and was about to leave them without a second thought.  
  
Duo was as shocked as everyone else, but wasn't about to let his friend leave. "Q, wait! Don't go!" he cried out, and jumped from the sofa. He raced over to Quatre and caught his arm before he was able to reach the door knob. "Please don't leave, Quatre!" the braided boy pleaded along with his violet eyes.  
  
Quatre looked at him blankly, then shrugged him off. "I'm not going to stay if I cause such a disturbance within our group. Wufei has clearly expressed that he is uncomfortable in my presence, so I will eliminate all of our problems by staying out of your way." he said plainly, his bright eyes now dead.  
  
The braided boy couldn't believe this. "Who gives a shit about Wufei?! I don't care what he thinks! I think you should stay!" he insisted. He didn't want the blonde to leave them.  
  
The blonde sook his head, and gracefully walked over to where there was a shelf against the wall near where Heero and Trowa were sitting. He reached up to the second from the top shelf, and pulled out a manila folder with several documents in it. "I refuse to stay if I hinder our missions in any way." He turned back to where Wufei now sat up, and was watching him with wide wary eyes. "And here, just to show you that I'm not a greedy bastard." He tossed the folder at him, and it landed right in front of him.  
  
Confused, Wufei looked at it blankly, then back up at Quatre. "What is it?"  
  
"It's the deed and titles to this mansion. It's yours now, and everything in it. Do with it as you see fit. " Quatre said stiffly, then quickly walked to the front door. "I shall see you on our next mission together. Good bye." Once the door had slammed shut, three pairs of eyes zeroed in on the Chinese boy on the floor.  
  
"Thanks a fucking lot, Wufei. I hope you're happy." Duo spat, then left for his room.  
  
The sound of a door slamming down the hall told everyone that Duo wasn't going to be back for a while.  
  
Wufei blinked in the direction that Duo went, then looked back at the two remaining.  
  
After a moment, Trowa stood from his seat, and gave him a disapproving glare. "Wufei, I've seen you do many careless things, but that had to be the worst of all of them. You have no idea how much you underestimate Quatre." He placed his book on the coffee table along with Heero's and stood straight again. "I mean this in all honesty... If you do something that foolish again, it might cost you your life." he stated calmly, then exited the room just as Duo had.  
  
Again, all the Chinese could do was stare after and try to come up with a coherent thought. Finally his attention was caught on the lean figure of Heero as he too stood.  
  
Heero looked at him with a normal expressionless gaze, then he finally spoke. "He could have killed you easily, Wufei. You don't know how he was trained. He was trained to get past someone's defenses, then take them out when their guard was down. He is a formidable opponent, and I suggest you don't tempt him." Heero began to walk in the direction of the kitchen. Before he walked out of the room, he turned back and gave one more piece of advice. "And never bring his family into anything. You know what happened after his father died. If he caused that much destruction over the loss of him, try to imagine what else he is capable of if it was one or more of his sisters." With that, he left Wufei alone on the floor with his thoughts...  
  
And he had plenty to think about.  
  
~Looks like you fucked up big time, Justice boy.~ a little voice inside his head chirped out.  
  
Groaning, Wufei held onto his jaw. "I know... I know."  
  
~*~ TBC  
  
He he... I like mad kitties... They're cute when they try to attack something. ^_^ Later! 


	2. Two weeks and still no word

Man... I just wrote this because I was bored.... I didn't think I would get such a reaction out of you guys.... Huh... Oh well! Enjoy!!  
  
~*~ chapter 2 ~*~  
  
It has been over two weeks, and still the four pilots are staying at the mansion that Quatre had left to them.  
  
Two weeks, and no word, or sign of the gentle Arabian of any kind.  
  
It was odd. None of them had ever seen Quatre get so frustrated so quickly, and to strike out at Wufei like he did. Although they all thought the Chinese boy deserved it because of the way he had treated Quatre, they were still stunned just thinking about it. His eyes had gotten so...  
  
Fierce.  
  
Like he had been holding back a large amount of anger, and Wufei's rant had made him snap.  
  
And, still in his angry state, he just left, leaving full run of the mansion to them. The mansion was still very large, even though compared to the others it was rather small, and it was filled with an assortment of interesting things. Ancient documents, an impressive antique sword collection, a well cared for library, and an over stocked kitchen.  
  
But to the four remaining pilots it was beginning to seem very....  
  
Empty.  
  
With the absence of Quatre, they began to notice how much a part the blonde really was in their lives.  
  
Every morning, Duo would wake and stumble into the kitchen, and his groggy mind expected to hear the blonde humming a soft tune while cooking breakfast over the stove. He thought could smell the pancakes that he would make just for him, and feel the warm comfort that always surrounded the blonde.  
  
But every time he had to hold back a broken expression when he came into the cold silent kitchen.  
  
Trowa missed the way the two of them would have tea together in the afternoons. They would sit down in the library, and would just enjoy each other's company. Now he only had Duo's whining, Wufei's apologies, and Heero's passive attitude to keep him company. They were all slowly driving him to the brink, and he prayed that he could find Quatre soon so all this insanity would stop.  
  
The perfect soldier was even missing the blonde. Quatre was the only one he could talk to about strategy, and battle tactics. Trowa would occasionally mention a few things, but it wasn't the same. None of them had the Arabian's brilliant strategic imagination.  
  
And finally, Wufei was suffering the most from Quatre's abrupt departure. Not only did he have to dodge the sudden icy glares, or disappointed looks, but had to deal with his own mind turning against him, and flaunting his mistake in his face. After meditating on the matter for several days, he still could not find a true reason why he had attacked the blonde boy so harshly. When he thought over what he had rashly told the kind Arabian, he felt that he deserved much more than the punch in the face that he did receive.  
  
~Maybe if he continued to beat me into the ground for about an hour, then maybe I'd feel better about myself..~ he thought to himself wistfully.  
  
Wufei was up the river without even a boat. Not only did he blatantly insult, and ridicule a fellow pilot without cause, but he destroyed a friendship that had been trying to form. What's worse is that he had no idea of where to look for Quatre so he could at least attempt to make amends for his mistake. He had tried all of Quatre's usual connections, but they all said the same thing.  
  
They had no clue where he was..  
  
This was beginning to worry all of the pilots.  
  
Heero had even tried calling Dr. J for help locating the blonde, but not even the five scientists could track him down.  
  
And that knowledge scared them deeply.  
  
"What the hell are we supposed ta do now, huh?! Wait, and hope that Quatre's still alive and well out there somewhere?!" Duo asked in an angry shout. His words were enhanced by the way he was frantically pacing back and forth in the large living room where the whole thing started.  
  
Trowa calmly watched him from the couch, and decided to speak out. "It's all we can do, Duo. We can't go out and search for him. We'd be placing both ourselves, and Quatre at risk. You know that." he pointed out quietly, although he was just as worried.  
  
Duo stopped his pacing, and frowned deeply. "I know... But still, I can't help but worry. The guy is my best friend.... Fuck, I don't have a clue what I would do if something happened to him." his voice cracked, and he began scrubbing stubbornly at his eyes with the back of his fists.  
  
His violet eyes then caught on the figure of Wufei sitting on the arm chair with a leg slung over the arm rest. "You better have a fucking good apology when he gets back, Wu." he growled out as he glared daggers. "Or I'll pick up where he left off."  
  
Wufei looked at him with a distant gaze, and merely nodded. He wouldn't put up a fight if it came to that. It was the very least he deserved.  
  
At that moment, Heero came walking in the room with a serious expression on his face, and a determined look in his cobalt eyes.  
  
Everyone knew what that look meant.  
  
A mission.  
  
Trowa stood, and instantly mirrored Heero's expression. "What is it?" he asked for them. The Frenchman was more than ready for something to take his mind off the current happenings.  
  
Heero waited until they were all gathered around him before he answered. "Seek and destroy mission. We have orders to locate a base that is seventy miles from our current position, then blow it up. This one's going to be on foot, so you have ten minutes to get everything you need together now." He was about to turn to follow his own advice, but then he remembered something. "Oh yeah.. One more thing..."  
  
The three look at him curiously. "What thing, Heero?" Duo asked.  
  
"The mission was for all five of us." Heero told them, and placed more emphasis on the word 'five'.  
  
The others looked at one another for a moment before Duo voices the one question that was on their minds. "Well, if it's for all five of us, then how the hell is Quatre supposed ta know? We don't have a clue where he is." the braided pointed out bluntly.  
  
Heero was more than ready to give the answer. "Duo, he's still a gundam pilot, even though he has left our company. Remember what the last thing he said to us was?" he asked them calmly.  
  
They thought, and soon Trowa knew. "He said that he would see us on our next mission together...." Trowa said aloud, and was hoping in the back of his mind that the blonde would stay true to his word.  
  
The stoic pilot nodded. "Exactly. If he has any access to a computer, he would still check for missions. He'll be there when we get there." Heero told them firmly. He then made his way back to his laptop to see if he could get any more information.  
  
Even though it was something to look forward to, the news did very little to lift Duo's spirits over the matter. "That isn't much to go on..." He suddenly turned another glare at Wufei. "And you better pray to whatever god you know that Quatre is there, or I'll tether your ass to Sandrock's scimitars as a welcome home present." the braided growled out on a dead serious tone.  
  
And he half wished he could go ahead and do it now.  
  
Before Wufei could answer him, Duo walked off abruptly to gather what he needed for the trip.  
  
The Chinese boy looked after him, and then cast his gaze downward. ~Maybe I should go make the banner now...~ Wufei mused lightly. He could picture himself hanging from the long deadly blades with a big 'Welcome Home!' sign stapled to his chest.  
  
Trowa saw the guilt ridden look on his comrade's face, and knew that would only cause trouble later on. He reached out and placed a hand on the raven haired boy's shoulder. When the two deep black eyes looked up curiously, he spoke. "Wufei, I know you're deeply sorry for causing Quatre to leave, but you can't let your guilt cloud your vision. This might be difficult for you, but place what happened aside for now. After we complete this mission, if Quatre stays long enough, you can talk with him then." Trowa released his shoulder and turned to get what he needed from his room. "And then you can worry about what he'll say." he added before he disappeared up the stairs.  
  
So once again, Wufei was left alone with his thoughts....  
  
~Wufei, you'd be better off if Quatre just shot you on sight.~  
  
And personally...  
  
He'd rather be left alone with Duo instead.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~ TBC  
  
I know that was kind of a teaser, but it's worth it, I promise! *dodges rocks being thrown* Next chapter will be twice as long, and more stuff will happen, so don't start gettin' violent on me! And Wufei will get what he deserves, I assure you.... ^___^ 


	3. I betrayed him

Hm, wonder what'll happen on their mission....  
  
Enjoy!  
  
~*~ chapter 3  
  
The ride to the base had been relatively quiet.  
  
Every now and then, Heero would make sure the other three knew what they were supposed to do, and now he was going over it again.  
  
"Alright, once we get close enough, we'll start scouting out the perimeter of the base. Once you see that it's all clear, sneak in as quickly and quietly as you can. Try to avoid all guards if possible. Once in, place the explosives in the designated areas that we discussed earlier." Heero instructed as they neared the base. As he was looking over the acknowledging faces, he could plainly see the question in Duo's worried gaze. "And if you can, be on the look out for Quatre. If you find him, try to get him back to the place we meet at after the mission is completed." he added. He instantly saw the braided pilot calm somewhat after that. "Is that understood?"  
  
Everyone nodded, ready as they could be with just the four of them.  
  
Shortly they reach as far as they could get on the 'borrowed' jeep without being detected. After concealing their vehicle as best they could, they split up in two groups and went in opposite directions. Heero and Duo were going to attach the bombs they had brought at the northern portion of the base where the fueling stations were, while Trowa and Wufei were going to be attacking the western storage buildings.  
  
North of the base, Heero and Duo were staked out on a hill above the base. From there they had the best vantage position, and they could also see each move that Wufei and Trowa were making to get closer to the base. They still had to be cautious, even though the evening lights were fading.  
  
Soon, it was dark enough that the lights of the base were flickering on, and the evening watch was switching out for the night watch.  
  
In a few more moments, they would have a clear shot at reaching the base without detection.  
  
"As soon as those guards are out of site, we'll move in." Heero whispered over to his partner.  
  
Duo nodded, and made himself ready to jump up and make a silent run for the fueling stations.  
  
A few minutes later the last guard disappeared in the building.  
  
The two pilots on the hill both stood, but before they could take two steps....  
  
*KA-BOOOOOOMMM!*  
  
The ground shook violently as the target they were after burst into a huge wall of flames.  
  
Duo had been shaken up so much, that he had lost his balance, and fell to the ground. He stared wide eyed at the now destroyed station. The American looks up at Heero with a bewildered look on his face. "What the hell just happened?!" he asked in a yelp.  
  
Heero was as stunned as Duo, but he merely glanced at him before he searched over the base to confirm what he thought.  
  
After a few seconds, his sharp eyes caught on the figure of someone jumping down from an empty watch tower. After looking closer, he couldn't help but show a small smirk. "I think we were beaten here, Duo. Look down there." Heero pointed down at the base.  
  
Duo blinked curiously, and looked down where the Japanese boy pointed out. Soon he could see someone with light blonde hair dash quickly across the grounds of the base towards the storage area that the other two were supposed to attack. "Q-man!" Duo laughed happily. Although he was glad to see that his friend was well, he still remembered that they still had a job to do. "You think we should go try to meet up with Tro and Wu since Q already did our part for us?" he asked, since there was no reason to stay at their position.  
  
The stoic pilot only nodded, and soon they were off to meet their comrades.  
  
Hopefully all three of them.  
  
~*~  
  
Trowa and Wufei were about to go out and set up the bombs that they had brought with them, but before they could move they heard, felt, and saw the large explosion at the point where Heero and Duo said they would detonate the bombs.  
  
After a moment to collect themselves, they looked out at the damage that the explosion caused.  
  
But something wasn't right.  
  
Not taking his eyes away from the tall flames, Wufei spoke out. "Trowa.. Do you notice something here?" he asked, and wondered if the silent one was thinking the same as him.  
  
The French pilot nodded lightly. "The explosive power of that was far greater than we had anticipated..." His green eyes flickered up to where he knew Heero and Duo had gone, and blinked when he saw that they were still there. "And Heero and Duo did not cause it."  
  
Wufei showed all the shock that the other didn't. "What do you mean they didn't do it? If they didn't, then who the hell did?" he asked. Things were becoming too confusing for him.  
  
Trowa was also wondering that question. He scanned over the base carefully. The soldiers were quickly coming out to try and contain the fire at the fueling station, but it was going to be futile. The fire was spreading too rapidly for their efforts to control. Then something caught Trowa's eye. While everyone was rushing towards to fire, there was one solitary soldier running away, and they were heading for the storage facilities. Trowa tried to get a better look at the person, and when he saw the familiar blonde hair and thin form, he couldn't help but sigh softly.  
  
The Chinese pilot saw Trowa's sudden mood change, and looked in the same direction as him. At first he didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but then he saw the form jumping up on several large crates that were stacked next to the storage building. After a second, he recognized him, and Wufei let out a sigh as well. "Well, we know he's alright now... Is he really going to do this by himself?" he asks to no one in particular.  
  
Not looking away from the blonde, Trowa nodded his head. "He is, and he can...." He saw how the blonde was dressed in full OZ military uniform, and could only come up with one conclusion. "He must have gotten the mission before us, and came here undercover.... I wonder how long he's been here..."  
  
Wufei couldn't answer, so he remained silent.  
  
They watched quietly as Quatre gracefully jumped up the crates, until he reached the top one. It was set right under the windows of the building, and he pushed at them, but they didn't move.  
  
"They must be locked...." a voice suddenly stated.  
  
The two pilots spun around, but calmed down when they saw it was only the American, and Japanese pilots behind them.  
  
Trowa turned back to where Quatre was struggling with the widows. "Probably... What do you think he'll do?" he asked lightly, very curious himself.  
  
Heero walked up and stood next to him. "Anything he can do."  
  
The other three look at him for a moment, then back to where their friend was.  
  
Quatre glared at the stubborn window, then reached into the pocket of his uniform. He pulled out a black bandanna, and began to wrap it tightly around his knuckles.  
  
When Duo saw that, his jaw dropped. "He's not gonna try ta punch out that window, is he? Those windows are reinforced, and are about an inch thick!"  
  
Before anyone could answer, Quatre reared back his fist and slammed it into the window.  
  
To everyone's surprise, the window shattered completely under the blonde's blow. He quickly kicked out what was left of the glass with his boot, then crawled inside.  
  
The others could only stand there and stare at what just happened. Trowa and Heero knew the kind boy was stronger than he looked, but those windows were designed to withstand explosions, and intense heat....  
  
And Quatre broke through with one punch, and didn't even seem fazed by it.  
  
Wufei was thinking the same thing, and then he realized something. "My God... He could have killed me...." he barely whispered.  
  
Now that Quatre had initiated the destruction of the base, it would be foolish, and careless to rush in to assist him. Plus the fact that he seemed to have everything under control added into their decision to remain at their position. So now all they could do was stay and wait.  
  
And pray that he came out all right.  
  
The four pilots stood quietly, watching with a detached amusement as the soldiers tried in vain to save the fueling station. Each of them wondered how the blonde was able to cause an explosion that big. Even with the fuel, and the equipment there, it had to take precise calculations to cause that much destruction with a single bomb. And, according to Heero, it was a single bomb that caused the large fire show.  
  
A few minutes pass by, and the others began to grow a bit anxious. The soldiers started to comb the base for intruders, and they were getting very close to the storage buildings. Another three minutes pass by, and still nothing, but the soldiers were still advancing to the building Quatre broke into.  
  
"Guys, I don't like this.. What's keeping Quatre?" Duo asked aloud. He wanted to go in and help his best friend, but unsure if he could.  
  
The others shared his concern, but they also knew to think that any of a number of things could be happening.  
  
"Duo, all we can do is wait, and hope for the best. Quatre can take care of himself, but if he needs us, we'll go then, and only when we have to." Trowa said calmly, but his fists were clenched tight. It was the only sign that he was truly worried.  
  
More time passed, and now the soldiers were entering the storage building. They could do nothing about it, but it didn't change the fact that they all desperately wanted to.  
  
More soldiers ran into the building, and Duo was about to crack. "Fuck this shit!" the braided boy spat, and was about to make a run for the base.  
  
Heero's hand shot out and grabbed at the fleeing American with a firm grip on his shoulder. "Duo, think! You know damn well that to go in there now would be suicide." he grunted coldly.  
  
Duo shot Heero a hot glare and growled back. "So you wanna just leave Q in there? Let him get captured?!" he asked in a loud hateful tone.  
  
"Of course I don't, but we have to cut our losses if necessary. Quatre knows the risks involved, and so do you. Now calm down, and be patient." Heero stated firmly, but deep down he was pushing back urges that were the exact same as his partner's.  
  
Duo would have made another comment, but he was cut off by Trowa's sudden statement.  
  
"Quiet! Something's happening!" he hissed out as he tried to focus better on the building.  
  
For a moment, nothing happened but what has been going on for the past ten minutes, but the they could see movement at the broken window. Soon they could see the thin form of Quatre hastily crawling out of the opening.  
  
Not taking a second to think, Quatre leaped with all of his power off of the tall stack of crates, and almost seemed to fly for a moment through the air. The blonde quickly began to descend, but, to the four's surprise, he landed on his feet in a crouched position.  
  
Once his feet touched the ground, Quatre started into an all out run. He didn't even bother to move around the numerous parked vehicles in his way, he just jumped on top of them, then back down.  
  
The way he was obviously trying to get away, that only left one answer for the pilots watching.  
  
A really big bomb.  
  
"Oh man... This one's gonna be big.." Duo mumbled, only able to imagine how big.  
  
They all knew that, but Trowa was able to get a glimpse at Quatre's face with his sharp eyes.  
  
The normally kind face held a deep determination, and a desperate need to get as far away as possible.  
  
The French boy's eyes widened when he saw that Quatre tried to double his efforts to get away. Finally, the Arabian dove behind a large truck, wound himself in a tight ball, like he was bracing himself.  
  
"Shit, everyone get down!" Trowa hissed out quickly. He dropped down to the ground, and roughly pulled Wufei with him.  
  
Heero saw this, and tackled Duo to the ground. Once down, all of them covered their ears tightly, and tensed up.  
  
For an instant, everything was still and quiet, but then a bright light formed in the center of the building. After the light, a giant volcano of fire and debris shot straight up into the sky. Soon after that, the earth shattering sound of the explosion rattled everything, even to the point where trees were knocked down around them from the raw power of it.  
  
It seemed like forever before the shaking of the ground stopped, but once it did, the four pilots sluggishly got up from the place on the ground.  
  
The sight they were greeted to almost made them want to fall back down on the ground.  
  
Nothing.  
  
The base was entirely gone.  
  
The explosion took out everything in its path, leaving nothing but a few pieces of a building here and there, or a truck or two that were somehow saved from the blast.  
  
It didn't take them long to start searching for the one who caused this.  
  
Eyes raked over the wreckage, and they all held their breath in hopes that they found Quatre alive and well.  
  
Trowa saw that the truck that the blonde had hid behind was one of the unlucky ones that got toasted, but he didn't give up on his silent search.  
  
Two minutes pass, but still no sign of any kind of life stirred at the demolished base.  
  
Wufei's throat felt unbelievably thick as he tried to swallow. ~What if he didn't make it?... What if I never get the chance to correct my mistake?... I'll have to carry this guilt for the rest of my life... Wait...~ The Chinese boy stopped his pity session when he noticed movement underneath a large hunk of metal that used to be part of a truck. "Hey! Look there!" he cried out, and hoped against everything that it was Quatre.  
  
All looked to where Wufei pointed, and they held their breath again.  
  
Slowly, the piece of metal shifted, and lifted up. Under it, they all sighed deeply when they saw that it was the blonde.  
  
Quatre pushed with all of his strength to get the heavy scrap of metal off of him. Muscles were straining, but he was able to give one great push against it. The slab tilted back, and soon it fell down in the other direction. It landed with a loud thud on the paved ground, telling everyone that it was far heavier than first thought. Quatre crawled up to his feet, and bent over slightly to catch his breath. When he recovered enough, he stood straight and took in the damage that he had caused.  
  
Smoke was thick in the air, and the fires were burning steadily. The smell of burnt metal and flesh was carried on the breeze that wafted around him.  
  
Almost like it was taunting him.  
  
He tore his gaze away from the devastation that he created, dusted off his uniform, and knocked the debris out of his hair. He stood still for a moment to check himself over.  
  
Other than a little sore, he found that he wasn't injured anywhere. It wasn't until he noticed the coppery taste in his mouth did he see that he was injured after all. Reaching his fist up, he wiped at his mouth and brought it down so he could see. There, standing out very vividly on his pale skin, was a wide smear of crimson liquid. His bottom lip was cut, and when he followed the cut, he realized that it was just the end of it.  
  
The whole left side of Quatre's pale, smooth face had a long slash on it, about a quarter of an inch wide toward the middle.  
  
Quatre was almost in awe at this.  
  
He had had scratches on his face, but this was a cut that would most likely scar if not treated immediately. He mused at how he would look with a scar along the side of his face, but decided he could ponder that later.  
  
Right now, he had to get the hell out of there.  
  
His protesting muscles were ignored as he went into another run.  
  
He took his time, and went around anything in his way. Shortly, he was at a small gate in the tall chain link fence that only the guard used when they needed to get out quickly. There was a lock on it, and him being in sort of a hurry, Quatre opted to just kick it down.  
  
It only took two swift kicks before the fence gave way enough to let the slight blonde pass.  
  
Quatre squirmed his way through, then began up the small hill that was the only thing that separated him from a fully successful mission.  
  
But, when he reached the top of the hill, he skidded to a stop at what he saw.  
  
Staring back at him were the other four pilots.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Quatre asked in complete shock.  
  
The four blinked at the sudden rude question.  
  
"Quatre? What do you mean? We were all sent on this mission." Heero said, unsure of the wild look in Quatre's aqua eyes.  
  
The blonde was totally confused. "How? I've been on this assignment for the past two weeks! I was just now given the orders to destroy the base!" he cried out. He wanted to know what was happening, but knew that they didn't have much time..  
  
"What?!" the others all ask, now just as confused as the blonde.  
  
Quatre frowned deeply. They really didn't have time for a game of twenty questions. "Okay, we'll just have to discuss this later, but we need to go now!" he stated seriously, and looked over his shoulder anxiously.  
  
The others blinked at how nervous he was acting. "Why, Q? What's wrong?" Duo asked. He was beginning to feel nervous himself.  
  
A loud growl was heard from him before Quatre gave a full force glare that said he wasn't in the mood for questions. "I don't have time to explain, just go! Now!" the blonde nearly snarled, which startled all of them.  
  
Not wanting to upset, or question Quatre at the moment, they all head out into the forest that surrounded the base.  
  
Quickly, they raced through the dense forest, the four trying to keep the blonde boy in sight.  
  
Quatre was moving with a speed and grace they had no idea that he possessed, and it made them all wonder what else the blonde had been hiding from them.  
  
Farther and farther they moved into the large trees, not taking one moment for pause. After Quatre thought that they had ran a good deal of distance away from the base, he slowed his pace until he came to a full stop.  
  
The others were grateful when he did, and all of them paused to catch their breath.  
  
But Quatre hardly looked winded.  
  
Quatre was facing away from them. His fists were clenched tightly, and his jaw was set. His mind was going over what he had just done, and he felt completely sick with himself. ~I used him... And now he's probably dead...~ he thought miserably. A vision of light, caring brown eyes filled his vision, and good humored laughter rang through his head. He would have broke down crying right there, but he knew it wouldn't do anyone any good.  
  
Duo watched quietly as his best friend was obviously trying to cope with what just happened. Slowly, he came up to him, and gently placed a hand on the blonde's tense shoulder. "You okay, Q?" he asked softly as an attempt to calm him down.  
  
His sad aqua eyes met with Duo's concerned violet ones. He managed a weak smile. "I wish I could say yes, but I'm not entirely sure....." He sighed deeply, then turned to face the four who ran in on his mission. "Now what exactly are you guys doing here?" Quatre asked them, he still wondered about it sense he first saw them.  
  
"We got a mission to destroy this base a few hours ago." Heero told him calmly. He glanced back where the base used to be, then back at Quatre. "But apparently you got here first. Now how long have you been here?" the stoic pilot asked curiously, but mainly wondered how the blonde boy did it.  
  
"About two weeks." the blonde told him, unsure of the odd looks he was getting.  
  
That seemed to clear up a few things.  
  
"So that's why we couldn't contact you." Trowa mused lightly.  
  
Quatre blinked at him. "Contact me? Why have you been trying to contact me?" he asked, and hoped nothing was wrong while he was away.  
  
That threw the others for a moment.  
  
"Quatre? Don't you remember? You got pissed at Wu here, and decked him! Then ya just walked out on us, mad as hell!" Duo reminded him bluntly, much to the Chinese boy's distress.  
  
Curious aqua eyes blinked for another moment as he tried to recall that. Then he did. "Oh! That! What about it?" he asked, curious to why they bothered.  
  
Wufei's jaw dropped. "You mean... You're not still mad at me?" he questioned hesitantly. He was making sure he wasn't being lead into a trap of some kind.  
  
"No... No, I'm not really mad..." Quatre said lightly. "I admit that I was a little steamed when I left, but I got over it. I've been kinda busy, so I just forgot about it after a day." the blonde stated honestly. "You were just blowing steam yourself, so I really can't blame you for it. I was just upset because of the crack you made on my sisters. It's okay though." Quatre shrugged it off like it was nothing.  
  
Wufei was a bout to pass out by now. "So does that mean you forgive me?" His black eyes looked forward hopefully.  
  
Quatre smiled softly at him, but just as he was about to answer, a slight noise caught his attention. His gaze shot past his friends to see the unmistakable forms of several men sneaking up behind them, and the glint of the dull light off of well polished metal.  
  
Not making a sound, Quatre pounced out at Wufei, and roughly pushed him down to the ground.  
  
A split second later, he felt a sharp burning pain bore straight through right side of his chest.  
  
He felt weightless for a moment, and it wasn't until he hit the ground that he realized that he had fallen. Shouts and gun fire was all he could hear, and his sight began to blur, unable to focus on anything properly.  
  
Then the last thing he saw was a pair of light brown eyes looking down at him. Quatre lifted his head up weakly. "Carlton?....."  
  
The blonde felt a fire burning in his chest, and he cried out weakly as everything faded to black.  
  
The last thing he heard was a calm, deep voice answering him.  
  
"Yes, Quatre, it's me... Now, I have to kill you..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~ TBC  
  
Oooo! I'm so mean... ^_^ No rock throwing, please.  
  
Later 


	4. Why does it have to be this way?

A few things are explained.  
  
Enjoy!  
  
~*~ chapter 4  
  
**~*~**  
  
A soldier being led by two guards calmly entered the base.  
  
Aqua eyes darted around quickly, and memorized the placement of watch posts and buildings.  
  
Soon the guards halt the soldier, and another, higher ranking, officer walked up to them from the main building. Dirty blonde hair that was a bit on the shaggy side framed a tan face, and went perfectly with big light brown eyes that held in a silent humor. He looked rather young to be a sergeant, but he also looked strong the way his uniform hung on his broad frame.  
  
When he stopped in front of the three that had just entered, the soldier that had been escorted into the base stood at attention, and saluted. "Private Quatre Winters reporting for duty, sir." he said calmly.  
  
The Sergeant saluted back, and, with a bright smile, held out his hand in greeting to the new soldier. "Hello, Quatre. Welcome to my lovely little base. I must admit that it's nothing much to see on the outside, but things will get more interesting once I've given you the tour." he laughed in a good natured tone.  
  
Quatre smiled back at him and took the offered hand. "I'm sure it will, sir."  
  
"Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Carlton Hews. I'm not exactly big on the whole 'sir' thing, so please call me Carlton." he insisted as he let out another deep laugh. "Now come along, and let me show you around the place."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
It has been five days since the blonde soldier's arrival, and he already knew the entire layout of the building, thanks to Carlton's tour, and the questions he had been answering.  
  
Since the two met, they began to chat, and talk, and soon they found out that they had quite a bit in common. Quatre found himself growing to like the easy going sergeant the more time he spent with him.  
  
At the moment, they were sitting in the mess hall, looking at the weird concoction that the cook called food. Carlton was occasionally making comments about other soldiers, or the state of the base, and the blonde would usually laugh and agree in return.  
  
But in the back of Quatre's mind, he kept having nagging thoughts of what he was doing, and how he was using the polite soldier to get what he needed.  
  
He shoved those thoughts aside, and tried to listen to what the man was saying to him.  
  
"I know you must be thinking how terrible the food is here, but you'll get used to it after a while." Carlton joked as he poked at the food on the tray in front of him. "Although, I'm not sure I'm used to it." His brown eyes looked around, and he leaned over the table and whispered. "I swear I saw the cook chasing a dog earlier today with a butcher knife."  
  
Quatre had been taking a sip of his glass of water, but after he heard that his eyes grew big and he went into a spit take. "What?!" he coughed out laughing.  
  
Carlton gave him a big grin. "Just tellin' you what I saw."  
  
After wiping off his mouth, Quatre swatted at him with his free hand. "Oh be serious!"  
  
The sergeant dodged the hand easily. "I am! Why do you think they call 'em hot dogs? And trust me, you do not want to know what part of the dog they use!" he cackled out in amusement.  
  
His mouth dropped in disgust. "That is nasty! You are awful, Carlton! If you're not careful, you'll make the cook mad at you... Again." Quatre added with a smirk.  
  
The larger man shrugged. "Oh well. Maybe if I complain enough, the cook will get the hint."  
  
"Good luck with that ever happening!" Quatre laughed out.  
  
Carlton grinned again, and went back to playing with his food. "Quatre, do you mind if I ask you a question?" he asked in a more subdued tone.  
  
He Noticed the change, so the smaller soldier looked back at him curiously. "Sure, go ahead."  
  
"What did you do before the war? I know you're only fifteen, but I was just curious if you had anything that you left behind." Carlton asked, actually being serious for once.  
  
Quatre was a little surprised at the question, but he was able to come up with and answer. "Well, I was a student... Going to private tutors, and those kind of things. I guess I miss that a little. I did look forward to some of my classes..... I have a big family, mostly sisters, but I've never been able to visit them that much, and I've practically forgotten what half of them look like since they're all so much older than me... I know that doesn't sound good, but it's just the way things happened. They were all grown up and half of them were married by the time I came around... So I really grew up alone..." Quatre trailed off. He now realized the old dull pain that used to have a hold of him when he was young.  
  
Carlton's brown eyes looked on thoughtfully at Quatre, who was obviously remembering his past. "Must have been tough on you... Not having anyone to really care for you..." he said softly. He slowly placed a hand on top of the younger boy's pale one on the table.  
  
Quatre blinked out of his thoughts, and looked down at the tanned hand on his. He looked back up and smiled gently. "At times, yes, but I got through it. Now I have a few friends scattered about, and they care about me.... In their own unusual ways." the blonde chuckled. "Anyway, what about you? Do you have any family out there somewhere?" he asked curiously.  
  
"Yeah..." Carlton got a small grin on his face. "I have two younger brothers, and an older sister out there. They live on the L3 colony."  
  
Aqua eyes lit up. "I have a good friend that's from there. I met him a little after I became a soldier.... Although he tried to kill me when we first met, we got to know each other, and he's one of my best friends now." he added with a laugh.  
  
The sergeant blinked. "He tried to kill you, and you still wanted to be friends with him?"  
  
He laughed again, but the blonde tried to explain. "It was a big misunderstanding. He didn't know who I was at first, so instantly pegged me as an enemy. It took me a while, but I was able to convince him that we shouldn't be fighting."  
  
"Huh, you must be a fast talker. I don't know many who can turn a guy who was trying to kill 'em into a friend." Carlton said jokingly.  
  
Quatre smirked at that. "I have a habit of doing that. You wouldn't believe how many times I've been able to turn a situation from someone's about to blow my head off, to us having tea in the library." he replied honestly.  
  
Again Carlton blinked. "Wow... Fast talker, and a charmer. I like that." He grinned brightly.  
  
The blonde smiled back at him fondly. ~Huh, he's so much like Duo...~ he mused to himself.  
  
Suddenly, the sergeant stood up and picked up his tray. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna get rid of this lame excuse for food before I find out what's really in it."  
  
Quatre found himself laughing at the comment, and stood as well. "Well, with all of your talk, I didn't eat any of it anyway. Maybe we could get a pizza sneaked in, or some Chinese food." he suggested. He knew that it wouldn't be that difficult.  
  
"I like the way you think, Quatre!" Carlton laughed, and slung and arm over his thin shoulders. "Come on, I know a phone we can use, and where we could pick it up."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Hunched over a very large piece of, very expensive looking, equipment, Quatre carefully studied every detail. It was a new kind of power generator that took 80% less fuel to power, but had an output almost three times that a normal generator could produce. It was an incredible piece of modern technology....  
  
~To bad I'm going to have to destroy it. Something like this could really help out our side.... Hm... Maybe I can look for the plans and download them to disk... Then I could..~  
  
"Quatre! Whatcha doing in this musty old place staring at that clunky thing?" Carlton's voice called out, soon followed by a firm slap on the back.  
  
"Ooof!..." Quatre coughed in surprise, then turned to him. "Oh, just looking around, trying to figure out how half of this stuff works." he covered quickly.  
  
Carlton looked at all of the excessively big machinery in the large warehouse, then back to the blonde. "Hn, you're tellin' me. With all these damn buttons and switches on all of this shit, you hafta have and instruction manual on how to use the instruction manual."  
  
The blonde smiled at that. "Really... So what's up? Did you come looking for me or something?" he asked curiously.  
  
The man grinned. "Sure did. I wanted you to join me and a few of the boys for a friendly little card game." he explained.  
  
Quatre thought about it, and shrugged. "Sure, why not. I'm a little rusty on card games, though. I'm more into chess myself."  
  
That got Carlton's attention. "Really? Well, I'll be a monkey's second cousin... You know I've been looking around for over a year for anyone who even remotely knows how to play chess! Hell, my chess set in my quarters practically has an inch thick layer of dust on it!" he exclaimed, and made a mental note to clean it.  
  
"Oh my, that's not good." Quatre giggled out. "Well, I'm sure, when we have the spare time, we could play a few games if you like." he offered politely.  
  
"Oh, I insist! I may be a big sarcastic jackass most of the time, but even I appreciate a little culture now and then." Carlton stated. He then moved to the blonde's side and hooked his arm. "Come on. First I'll introduce you to the guys, then we'll clean them out of everything they have!" he laughed out as he led Quatre away.  
  
Quatre laughed as well, and smiled brightly. "Sounds fun. Lead the way."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
As they sat around at a large desk, Quatre and Calrton were casually studying the chess board placed in the center of the desk. The way the game had played out, they matched each other's moves precisely, and a stalemate was in the process of being an option. So now they were glancing at every piece on the board, and calculated any move that would increase their odds of winning.  
  
Neither were in a particular hurry to make a move though.  
  
After glaring at his white chess pieces for nearly ten minutes, Carlton sighed and sat back in his over stuffed desk chair. "Well, this is very odd... I've never had this happen before." He looked away from the board, and focused his attention on the blonde in front of him. "So what do you think?" he asked lightly.  
  
As he sat in a smaller chair, but still with perfect posture, Quatre was looking at his remaining black pieces on the board with a thoughtful gaze. "This has turned out most interesting... I've been in stalemate before, but nothing like this.. The pieces are so close within a position that they could move in, but only one space is stopping them... Quite strange....." He gave a small frown of concentration.  
  
The sergeant couldn't help but smile at the determined look on his face. "Well, now I can really tell that you had private tutors.... That kind of eloquent wording would never suit that of a soldier of the lower class." he joked.  
  
But Quatre's frown deepened when he heard that. "Well, I wouldn't go as far as saying that they actually taught me anything...." he stated in a lower tone. "Hn, more like they shoved it down my throat." the blonde grumbled as he glared at his black queen, who was in Carlton's possession.  
  
His tone caught Carlton's interest. "Oh? Was it really that bad?" he questioned curiously.  
  
"Bad is and understatement...." the blonde boy grunted in reply. "My entire life was built solely on the purpose that I would someday take over my father's business, and run it the exact way he did... That didn't quite turn out the way it should have seeing's how I'm now a soldier rather than a businessman. I hate business..." His fists clenched tightly as he thought of all the countless insults and ridicule of his past.  
  
Carlton saw the tension clearly, and was surprised by it. "I see.... Well, maybe it's best to just leave things in the past, and not dwell on it." the sergeant suggested lightly.  
  
Quatre blinked for a moment, then sighed deeply. "Yes... Best not to dwell on it." When he focused his attention back to board, he noticed something that neither himself nor Carlton saw before. With a slight smile, he moves his bishop three spaces up.  
  
As he watched his move, Carlton grinned. "Quatre, I think you're slipping." He then took his white queen and captured the black bishop.  
  
The blonde's smile grew wider. "Am I?" He then moved his hand to a black pawn, that was position two spaces behind the white king, up one space.  
  
It was on Carlton's starting line.  
  
Still smiling at Carlton, Quatre delicately pointed to the black queen that was in the sergeant's hand. "I would like that back now." he stated politely.  
  
Shocked at the sudden play, Carlton slowly replaced the pawn with the queen.  
  
Once he did, Quatre smiled brightly. "Checkmate."  
  
When he looked at all of his pieces, Carlton saw that he had absolutely no where to move. With a deep sigh, he took a finger and knocked over his king. "You win, Quatre...." He then reached out over the desk. "Good game."  
  
Quatre took the strong dark hand in his thin pale one. "Yes it was."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"You've got to be kidding! And here I thought I was the only one who liked that all that ancient history!" Carlton exclaimed happily as he sat down his book on his bed.  
  
The blonde was sitting in a chair across the room, and chuckled his response. "I was beginning to think the same thing. No one seems to realize that those events of the past shaped our future into what it is today. I find it very fascinating myself." he stated, quite happy at what he was hearing.  
  
And Carlton was very pleased as well. "I swear, Quatre, you must be like my long lost brother or something! I loved studying war history of the past. I haven't had much opportunity to recently, but I sometimes get the chance. Oh, and I have a little something that might interest you..." he trailed off to add to the suspense.  
  
And the blonde boy was hooked. "And that would be?..."  
  
He grinned wide, and placed his hands behind his head. "There is a training facility, hidden to the world, underground somewhere in these mountains. It was originally designed to have the soldiers train to think quick on their feet.... Do you know of the labyrinth from ancient times in Greek mythology?" the sergeant asked to build up on the boy's curiosity.  
  
Quatre nodded. "Of course. Mythology was my second best subject to war history."  
  
"Quatre, I think I love you!" Carlton laughed. "But seriously, an almost exact replica of that maze has been built in that underground facility. Some say it was built by Treize himself, but no one knows for sure. Anyway, in certain places there are questions that lead to a door that will set you on the right track to the center of the maze. One answer could be right, or two, and sometimes all three are wrong. Pick the wrong door and something happens that'll scare the shit out of the soldiers, then they have to try again later. Usually the questions pertain to mobile suits, or modern battle tactics, but sometimes, just to throw them off, I'll put war history in place of the usual questions. No one has made it all the way through, not even me." he finished, curious at how he would react.  
  
Quatre was silent for a moment, but then he smiled brightly. "That is very interesting.... Now you've got me curious. I wouldn't mind taking a crack at it sometime." he chuckled. Then his mind briefly mused over how he would like to throw a certain Chinese ass in the maze and let him fend for himself.  
  
The thought alone brought a grin to his pale face.  
  
Carlton raised a brow at the evil grin on his friend's face. "Quatre? What's got you grinning like the preverbal cat with a catnip mouse?" he asked curiously.  
  
He blinked out of his musing state, Quatre blushed lightly, and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Oh, just thinking of a few people I'd like to toss in there to see how they would fare." he grinned sheepishly.  
  
"I see... Well, I've actually done that a few times, and usually they act like total dumb asses. Can't even get past the first question."  
  
That made the blonde boy smirk. ~He couldn't even read the first question...~  
  
Quatre directed his attention back to the sergeant when he began to speak again.  
  
"If you would like, Quatre, I could set up a session for you at the labyrinth.... Just for fun, of course." he added lightly.  
  
"Of course. I would like that." he agreed with a smile.  
  
Carlton then suddenly stood up. "Alrighty! I'll go set you up a date right now. I doubt many soldiers will protest to you being placed before them. They usually hate the labyrinth sessions anyway." he told him as he moves for the door.  
  
Quatre soon followed him. "I can't imagine why." the private commented lightly.  
  
The sergeant laughed, and glanced back at him. "Neither can I."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
As he stared wide eyed at the computer screen, Quatre was at a loss for words. "They... They can't be serious...." Reading over the file once more only pounded the truth further into his mind. "They want me to carry out the base's destruction tonight?! But I've only been here a few weeks! I thought they wanted me to find out their plans and strategies..... But all they wanted was an inside destroy mission...." he trailed off.  
  
Quatre didn't know what to do.  
  
His mind went over the past few weeks, and his stomach turned in knots. "What can I do?... I befriended Carlton, and now I have to destroy all that he's worked for, and probably take his life in the process...." Tears came to his eyes when he thought of how trusting the sergeant had been to him.  
  
His eyes then flickered to a thick leather bound book that was placed on his bed. It was a rare book that covered every single battle that has ever happened in the past history of man kind. It was Carlton's only copy, and he had given it to Quatre as a token of their new friendship.  
  
The mere sight of the book made him feel sick, so he turned his gaze away harshly. "Why?... Why do I have to do this? Carlton is my friend! I can't kill him!!" Quatre cried out in frustration.  
  
Trough his tears, his saw the blue tinted glow of the laptop screen, and it caused his fists to clench in anger. "You people are always destroying innocent lives... Damnit, why can't it just end now!?!" He let out a loud growl of frustration. The blonde boy grabbed the laptop, and threw it across the room with all of his strength.  
  
He then watched as it collided with the wall and practically shattered into a million pieces.  
  
Unable to take it anymore, Quatre slumped down to the floor and cried softly in misery. "Allah... Why must so many good people die for this war?..." Reddened aqua eyes then look back at the book on his bed, and something clicked in his head.  
  
"I can warn him.... I can tell him the truth, and warn him before it's too late...." Now with a new energy, Quatre jumped to his feet and pounced on the desk chair. Quickly, after he took out a pen and paper from the desk, he began to pour his heart out on the paper.  
  
It took everything for Quatre to keep his tears in check so they wouldn't spill out onto the paper.  
  
It didn't take very long for him to finish it as best he could, but to the blonde it seemed like forever just to write one simple word. Soon he signed his name on the bottom, and folded it neatly. Taking out a piece of black ribbon that he had found a few days ago, he carefully took the book off his bed and gently tied the letter to the book. Once done, Quatre looked at what he did, and didn't know whether to feel good, or horrible about himself.  
  
Unable to find an answer to his own silent questions, Quatre sighed deeply, and stood, book in hand. He wiped at his eyes quickly with the sleeve of his uniform jacket, then Quatre made his way for the door. He took one last glance at the room he had been staying in, the nice quarters that Carlton had gotten for him. His thoughts then replayed his time here, and more tears threatened to make themselves known. When he tried to suck it up as best he could, Quatre opened the door and left the room.  
  
As he left, he whispered something to the air.  
  
"Carlton... Please forgive me..."  
  
**~*~**  
  
Eyes slowly cracked open, and Quatre hissed in pain as bright lights practically seared into them.  
  
But his poor eyes were nothing to him when he felt a sharp burning in his chest. When he coughed, the pain tripled, and racked through his body.  
  
The blonde was beyond confused, but everything made sense when he found himself strapped to a chair in a barren white room. The only things in the room besides himself was two mirrors that were on each of the walls to his sides.  
  
And when he looked up, his aqua eyes caught sight of light brown.  
  
"Carlton..." he mumbled out.  
  
The man gave a sharp angered glare to the blonde. "Hello Quatre... We have a lot of things to discuss, don't we?" he asked in a low growl.  
  
Quatre bowed his head, and felt a tear roll down his cheek.  
  
"Yes... Yes we do..."  
  
~*~ TBC  
  
Uh oh...  
  
Later 


	5. I didn't want to hurt you!

Enjoy!  
  
~*~ chapter 5  
  
~*~  
  
"Unnnn.... What the hell happened?" Duo's tired voice groggily asked as he sat up.  
  
When his violet eyes became used to the dim light of the room he saw that Heero Trowa and Wufei were all awake and staring at something.  
  
Confused, Duo looked in the same direction as his comrades, and held in a choked cry.  
  
Through a glass window was Quatre strapped down tightly to a metal chair. The long cut that ran along the side of his face had stopped bleeding on its own, but the color of the dried blood on the pale face was a horrible sight. Duo looked on, and nearly cried when he saw the large blood stain on the right side of Quatre's chest. The blonde looked like he could pass out at any moment, and they all thought that if he did he might not wake back up.  
  
It was then that Duo noticed the man in the room with him. The tall strong looking man that seemed to tower over the wounded Quatre.  
  
"What's going on? he whispered out, and hoped it wasn't what he thought it was.  
  
Heero looked away from the glass separating them from their friend, and looked at his partner. "The soldiers ambushed us, and shot Quatre. It wasn't long after that that they over took us and used knock out gas." His cobalt eyes moved back to where the blonde was at the Sergeant's mercy. "I was the first one to come out of it, and when I did I saw that man placing Quatre into that chair. He made it quite clear that Quatre was the only one he wanted to talk to..." After looking over the uniforms the two in the white room were in, Heero came to a conclusion. "From the uniforms they are wearing, I'm guessing that Quatre impersonated a member of that sergeant's forces...." he finished, but tried to read their lips to find out more.  
  
Duo had listened to him quietly, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from the way Quatre's head was bowed down.  
  
It was almost like the blonde boy was hiding his face in shame.  
  
~*~  
  
"So..." Carlton began. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "I found this in my office roughly six hours ago..... When I read it I didn't want to believe it, but what you wrote was too precise to be a lie.... I was able to get what men I could out before it was too late..." The man's hand shot out and grabbed Quatre's chin, and he then forced the blonde boy to look up. "Tell me, Quatre... Why did you write this? Why did you warn me of your attack?" he asked harshly.  
  
But behind the anger in his light brown eyes there was a glint of hope.  
  
And Quatre saw it. "Carlton... I... I didn't want to see you get killed.... It was my only option..." Quatre gasped out, he felt sick with himself more than he thought possible.  
  
That wasn't enough.  
  
"Why, Quatre? Or is that even your real name?!" he spat out in anger, but also hurt.  
  
He glared back, and his aqua eyes flared up. "It is, Carlton! Quatre is my real name! If it makes you feel better, I'll tell you my full name!" he snapped back as tears rolled down his face.  
  
Shocked at the sight of such emotion from the boy, the sergeant pulled back. "Alright... What's your full name?" he asked in a calmer tone.  
  
Unable to take the pain of betrayal that was so deep in his brown eyes, Quatre bowed his head once more and answered. "My real name is Quatre Reberba Winner... I'm the heir to the Winner Family Foundations, I have twenty-nine older sisters, I did grow up alone, and I swear I never wanted to hurt you..." he choked out, and wished he could die right there.  
  
Carlton didn't know what to say to that. His thoughts were torn, and emotions were hurt deeply. "Why should I believe you? You're the enemy. For all I know this is just some very clever ploy to get me to lower my guard and make a mistake..." the man grunted out.  
  
And he hoped it to be just that.  
  
Then things would be so much simpler.  
  
The boys light blonde head snapped up, tears still streamed down his face. "Look at me, Carlton!! Can you honestly look into my eyes and tell me that you still think that this is all just a brilliant performance to drop your guard?? I'm hurting just as much as you!" he cried out desperately.  
  
His words stung at the man's heart deeply, but the soldier in him told him to take no chances. "I can't afford to risk that. I have no choice but to deal out your punishment for the destruction of an Oz military base, and the deaths of over eight hundred Oz officers." he states in a deathly calm tone. "And punishment is death: effective immediately."  
  
Before Quatre could even blink, Carlton had pulled his side arm out of its holster and aimed it straight at Quatre's head.  
  
Aqua eyes were wide, and they held in the fear and sorrow that he had been trying to keep in check. "Wait! Listen to me, please!..." he said quickly.  
  
Carlton kept to his aim, but backed his finger off of the trigger. "What now, you worthless rebel spy?" he growled out vehemently.  
  
Quatre's heart clenched at those words, but had to go on. "What about the other four that were with me? What have you done with them?" he asked, and prayed that they were all right.  
  
He sneered, and used his free hand to point to the mirror that was on the left of Quatre. "They're perfectly safe in a room on the other side of that two way mirror. They can see everything that we do, but they can't hear us. What of it?"  
  
Somewhat relieved at that, the blonde boy had to keep on. "Please, I'm begging you, let them go. They had absolutely nothing to do with the destruction of the base... They were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. I was the only one who had a hand in it. Let them go!" Quatre begged desperately, in hopes that he would listen. "Do whatever you want with me, but just leave them out of it!"  
  
Carlton found himself lowering his gun ever so slightly, and looking at the boy with a mild curiosity. "Oh? And why are you so willing to sacrifice yourself for those four? I know that they are part of your rebel group. So why are you so ready to die just for them?"  
  
"Because they're my friends! Friends just like we were!" Quatre shouted hotly.  
  
That made the sergeant fumble. "Friends?! Friends don't destroy everything you've worked for! Friends don't kill half of you comrades!... Frie-"  
  
"Damnit, Carlton, I'm a soldier!!!" the boy nearly screamed. "Just like you, I have no choice but to follow orders to the letter! Do you think I wanted to destroy the base after the time I spent with you and the other men there?! I didn't even know what kind of mission I was on until I got the orders to blow up the base this morning!" Quatre told him harshly. "Why do you think I wrote you that letter?! I didn't want you to get hurt!!!"  
  
The man took a step back at the outburst. When he could gather his thoughts, Carlton then thought of a question that would finally make his decision. "Quatre, I thought that I had found someone who could understand me better than anyone else when I met you... And you turn out to be my sworn enemy... Why did you try to be my friend even though you knew that in the end we would turn on each other and become enemies again? Why did you play with my emotions? Why, damn you?!?" the sergeant exclaimed as tears now came to his own eyes.  
  
But Quatre's tears had stopped because he had no more to shed. "Carlton, I had no idea it would turn out this way.... I thought it was simple spying mission, so I could risk it... You don't seem to realize that, even if you did decide to release me, I would be put to death for treason..." he tells him, now in a calm solemn tone.  
  
That confused the man. "I... I don't understand... What do you mean?"  
  
"One thing that is strictly against the protocol for the rebel forces that I'm with is to share any kind of information about myself or anyone else that is my group. I violated those rules when I told you about myself when I first came here." He then nodded his head towards the mirror to his left. "And two of my comrades in there can read lips, so they know everything that's been said between us." His churning aqua eyes then settle back on Carlton. "I wouldn't be entirely surprised if they shot me the moment I stepped out of this building."  
  
"But... But you said that they were your friends..." Carlton said in an unsure manner.  
  
Quatre nods. "Yes I did... And I know that if they had to they would shoot me on sight. If I had to I would most likely do the same because that was how we were trained. It's how we survive." He bowed his head, not entirely proud of that fact. "But right now I have an option of negotiation for their lives in trade for my own, and I'm going to try, because I was always taught that friends should look out for one another, no matter what...." When he looked back up, Quatre stared straight into the sergeant's eyes. "And I mean no matter what, Carlton. No matter what you do to me, I am still going to think of you in the time we were friends." he told him honestly.  
  
Carlton stared back at him with wide eyes, and was at a loss. "What are you? To tell me that even if I decide to kill you that you still want to be my friend?" he asked in awe.  
  
"Hn, a hopeful sentimental sap that has an extremely stubborn will." Quatre mused lightly.  
  
The man couldn't help but smirk at that. "I see.... I think I have your punishment thought out, Quatre." But, to Quatre's surprise, he reholstered his weapon and turned to the door.  
  
Curiosity having gotten the better of him, Quatre called out to him. "What would that be?"  
  
He looked over his shoulder, and Carlton gave an almost evil smirk. "I had your session at the labyrinth scheduled for tomorrow at noon...." He turned his back to him once more. "I plan for you to keep your appointment." With that he exited through the door.  
  
Leaving Quatre alone with his thoughts...  
  
His guilt...  
  
And his pain.  
  
"Unnn..." Quatre suddenly arched his back and hissed out. "Damnit!" His chest began to throb, and his head swam from the pain. In the back oh his mind he knew that if he was still alive then the shot to his chest must have deflected off a rib.  
  
And he also knew that, if he didn't have it looked at soon, an infection would set in, and most likely give him blood poisoning.  
  
"Added on top of everything else... I don't think this mission is that bad...." the blonde chuckled out weakly.  
  
His head turned to look at the mirror that his friends were supposed to be behind. After seeing his marred face it the smooth glass, Quatre sighed and closed his eyes. "I know, Heero... I messed up.... I'll find a way out, though. Just give me time...." He would have continued, but he broke out into a coughing fit that made his chest a throat feel like they were on fire.  
  
His breathing ragged, the blonde desperately tried to find a comfortable position where he could at least rest somewhat and regain his fast depleting energy.  
  
Something told him that he would really need it soon.  
  
~*~  
  
When the battered blonde seemed to have drifted off to sleep, Trowa and Heero looked at one another in silence, both completely understanding what was going on.  
  
That couldn't be said for Duo and Wufei.  
  
"Hey, what happened, guys? What was all that about?" Duo asked in deep concern.  
  
The two silent pilots remained the same way for a moment, but then Trowa nodded in agreement to something.  
  
When he did, Heero turned around to his partner. "It was most of the usual interrogation questions." he told him flatly. And his tone held no room for discussion.  
  
Duo knew better than that though. ~Usual interrogation questions my ass.... Quatre wouldn't have reacted that way if it was the normal treatment, and that sergeant was the same way..... They were both crying... With as much emotion as they were showing, they must have had some sort of relationship, and the sergeant's pissed because he feels betrayed.... And Quatre's upset because he thinks he did betray him... Damnit, that kid's got too much heart in 'im...~ Duo frowned deeply, got up off the floor, and moved back to the corner. Once there, he plopped down and started playing with the end of his braid nervously.  
  
As they watched him, Heero and Trowa both felt the same nervousness that the braided boy felt. Soon they do the same as him and each found a corner where they could be alone and deal with this their own way...  
  
But Wufei didn't move one inch.  
  
The Chinese boy sat perfectly still in front of the two way mirror, and stared deeply at Quatre, while he tried to fight off his own demons. ~Quatre.... You are too caring.... Too kind.... You could have killed me for the insults I made against you and your family, but you didn't... And now you're in this state.... You're in so much pain.. I can tell it from the stiff expression on your face.... And the cut on your face... You're flawless skin now marred because you are a good soldier and risked everything for your mission and cause.... No, you are a great soldier... I just wish I could have realized it sooner.. Then maybe none of this would have happened.... I'm so sorry, Quatre... Please forgive me...~ He bowed his head in shame.  
  
Wufei held off fiercely the emotions he was trained to ignore.  
  
But then again, all walls must fall eventually.  
  
~*~ TBC  
  
God, I am so mean.... Oh well! ^_^  
  
Later! 


	6. lost forever

Now the fun really begins!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
~*~ chapter 6 ~*~  
  
When he finally woke up, and how long he had slept, he had no clue.  
  
The bright lights made him blink rapidly. His eyes searched over the surrounding area, but something was wrong...  
  
This wasn't the same place he had fallen asleep at.  
  
"So you finally decided to wake up. How nice of you."  
  
He frowned deeply and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Kiss my ass, Heero. This is no time for sarcasm." Duo muttered through a yawn. He then looked around again, and was more confused than ever. "Hey... Where are we? And where's Wu and Tro?" the braided boy asked, nothing made sense now.  
  
Heero didn't understand it either. "I don't know.. When I woke up we were here, and I couldn't find the others anywhere...." The stoic pilot then looked at Duo with a serious glare. "Duo, I think we're in a giant maze." he stated bluntly.  
  
"What? What the hell is that supposed to mean, Heero?" Duo asked in confusion as he looked at the four white walls around him.  
  
"Just what I said. You see that door way over there?" He pointed to a opening in the far wall of the room.  
  
Violet eyes looked at it for a moment. "Yeah.. So?"  
  
"Well, when I woke up I walked through it to see if I could find Trowa and Wufei. When I walked through the walls were about fifteen feet tall, and I couldn't tell where the ceiling was because it was so high up, and everything is painted this same brilliant white color." Heero began, still unable to explain it fully.  
  
And Duo was lost to begin with. "Then where are the lights coming from?"  
  
The Japanese shrugged. "I can't tell. It's almost as if the light is coming from the walls themselves."  
  
Duo gave him a very skeptical look, and scratched his head to think. "Well, what makes you think it's a maze?" he asked, and hoped for a straight answer this time.  
  
And he got one.  
  
"I tried to climb up the walls at a corner to see what was over them, and I was able to for a split second, then I lost my grip. The further up I went on the walls the slicker they got. Near the top they're slick as ice."  
  
"Okay, but what did you see?" Duo prompted him.  
  
"Endless path ways, and corners. Duo, from what I saw, they seem to have no end." Heero told him calmly, although he didn't feel completely calm himself.  
  
The American pilot let this new information sink in for a moment, then something occurred to him. "They must have drugged us while we were asleep, then split us up and placed us at different parts of the maze...." he mumbled loudly, and frowned at the floor.  
  
Heero nodded. "That was my conclusion."  
  
"Hm... Oh no... " His eyes became wide, and he stared up at Heero. "Heero, if you're right, then all of us could be wandering around here for days, hell, years, and we wouldn't be able find the others!" Suddenly another thought struck him that terrified him. "Shit! And Q's hurt badly! If he doesn't get help soon, he'll die!" he cried out, tears quickly came to his eyes.  
  
That thought hadn't occurred to Heero. "You're right... From the way he was injured, I would think another day or two before a bad infection sets in his wounds..." He cut his own statement off, not wanting to think about the possibilities.  
  
But Duo's mind kept playing horrid image after image. "Oh my God... Quatre... God please let him be okay..." He grabbed at his golden cross necklace, and the braided boy went through every prayer in his head that he could think of.  
  
Heero understood the actions his partner was taking, but now wasn't the time for that. "Duo, if we want to accomplish anything, we have to try and get through this maze, or at least try to find the others." After stepping over to where the frantic American was sitting, Heero grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up to his feet. Once he was up, Heero made him face him. "Snap out of it, Duo! If we want to get through this we've got to work together, and stay together. If we get separated, then our chances of making it through this lower down to practically nothing. Now are you going to pull yourself together?" he asked firmly in hopes that he was getting through.  
  
Duo had a blank look on his face as he was trying to understand what was just said. Then he nodded slowly. "You're right, Hee... We just gotta stick together...." He pulled away from the strong boy's firm grip. Then Duo tried to collect himself. After breathing in deeply a few times, he opened his violet eyes and his face set in determination. "Alright. Let's go."  
  
Satisfied at how well Duo had dealt with that, Heero turned to the door way. Quietly they both walk out into a corridor, the first of many if Heero was right.  
  
But, before they could even take three steps, an image seemed to appear on the far away ceiling. It wasn't long before the image formed into the face of the sergeant that had shot Quatre.  
  
"Hello, my good gentlemen." a voice that seemed to come from everywhere said. "I'm glad to see that all five of you have decided to venture out into the maze, especially you, Quatre. As I'm sure you have noticed immediately, you five have been split up. Who is with who, and where, I can't say because it would ruin all the fun." the man's image chuckled lightly.  
  
"Anyway, I'm positive you're all curious as to what's going on. Well, to put it simply, I have decided to be a bit lenient in your punishment. The place you are in now is called the labyrinth. If you know anything about mythology, you should know what that means, but if you don't I will enlighten you. The labyrinth is a giant maze where you have to find your way to the center, and answer the minotaur's riddle. If you can manage to find your way to the center, and answer the riddle correctly, I will set you free, no catches. But, if you fail to find the center, I will leave you here and let everything run its own course. If you find the center, but are unable to answer the question correctly, you will be shot on site, no exceptions. I will free whoever makes it." he stated clearly.  
  
"Now this isn't everything. As you make your way to the center, you will face ten mental challenges. Questions about a certain subject, and you will be given several answers to choose from. The answers will set you on another path, if you answer correctly, and you will be closer to finding your way to the center. Answer wrong and... Well, let's just say that you'll want to answer correctly the first time."  
  
"The way I have you separated and placed in three different areas, some of you are bound to find each other eventually.... But some of you will have a ways to go if you want any hope of reuniting with your friends... Oh yes, don't bother to try and scale the walls to cheat the maze. Once you reach the tops of them, if you can scale the slick walls, they are pressure sensitive, and motion sensitive on the top edges. If you try to climb up and jump from wall to wall, a mechanism will set off, giving you a very nasty shock. You'd be wise to just play fair. That's all I will tell you. You're all on your own now. Best of luck to all of you." The image then faded, and the bright white ceiling was visible again.  
  
Heero and Duo looked at one another with skeptical expressions.  
  
"Well... That was helpful... Hopefully Q is with either Trowa or Wufei... But..." Duo trails off.  
  
And Heero finishes. "But he said split up and placed in three different places. That means one of them is out there alone..."  
  
His face fell when he heard that, and Duo sighed deeply. "I'm beginning to wonder if Quatre should have just kicked Wu's ass and that would have been the end of it..." he mumbled.  
  
That made Heero smirk. "Yeah... Would have been a lot more simple...." Knowing that standing there would get them nowhere, he started down the hall. "Come on, we better get moving."  
  
"Right behind ya, man."  
  
~*~ TBC  
  
Later! 


	7. run in

Tee hee ^_^  
  
Enjoy!  
  
~*~ chapter 7 ~*~  
  
It has been four hours since the sergeant's well wishes, and Trowa and Wufei were standing at, what seemed like, the hundredth dead end they have came across since they started.  
  
"Wufei, glaring at that wall will get us no closer to finding Quatre, or Heero and Duo" Trowa pointed out calmly to his growling friend.  
  
His attention turned from the wall to the Frenchman, and Wufei growled louder. "Well, I don't see you doing much of anything to get us out of here!" he snapped in annoyance.  
  
Trowa frowned at him for the remark. "What do you want me to do, hm? Snap my fingers and wish us to the center? It doesn't work like that, Wufei. We have to stay together, and just try to figure this out. It's all we can do." the tall pilot told him firmly while wishing that he had been placed with one of the others.  
  
The Chinese boy's glared faltered, and he then sighed deeply. "I know.. I know, I'm just frustrated. Everything has happened too much too fast... And all of it is my fault..." Wufei bowed his head, and tried to keep his emotions in check.  
  
He remained like that for a moment, but suddenly he felt a warm gentle hand on his shoulder. Wufei looked up curiously to be greeted by a pair of deep green eyes.  
  
"Wufei, you shouldn't blame everything on yourself. I highly doubt that the fight you had with Quatre had much to do with any of this. This was something that Quatre got involved in, and we were the fools that got in the way. If we hadn't been there, I'm nearly positive that Quatre would have gotten away...." Trowa trailed off for a moment, and bit his lower lip to keep back his tears. "So you see, we all had a part in this, so don't blame everything on yourself, okay?"  
  
Wufei listened and nodded slowly. "Yes... I understand."  
  
"Good, now let's just try to find the others."  
  
"Okay..."  
  
The two quietly walked to the opening of the long corridor that lead them to the dead end.  
  
Once they reached the end, they turned down the path that lead them there, but before they had a chance to look...  
  
"Oooff!"  
  
They ran into something...  
  
"Ouch! Hey, that hurt!!"  
  
Or rather someone.  
  
Looking up from the floor where they had landed, Wufei and Trowa were greeted with a very welcomed sight.  
  
"Heero! Duo!" they both shouted out in relief.  
  
And once the other two realized who it was, they were glad too.  
  
"Oh, wow! I never thought we'd find you two! It feels like we've been walking around in circles for hours, man." Duo stated as he picked himself off the ground with the help of Heero.  
  
"Yeah, we have no idea where we've been either. Everything looks the same." Trowa agreed as he helped the Chinese boy up.  
  
Once the four were standing again, they looked at one another sadly.  
  
All of them had the same idea in mind.  
  
Duo gave a crest fallen look as he raked a hand through his long bangs. "God... I was really hoping that Quatre was with one of you..." he sid in a quiet tone, too worried for tears.  
  
The other two nodded. "We were hoping that he was with one of you.... But evidently, this Sergeant wants Quatre to suffer as much as possible..." Trowa figured in distress.  
  
That made the others worry all that much more.  
  
Finally Duo snapped. "Damnit! What did Quatre do to deserve this?!" he asks hotly.  
  
"Duo, he destroyed that sergeant's base, and killed almost all of his men. If you ask me, the Sergeant was generous enough to let him even have this chance to escape." Heero stated, still not understanding why exactly the man did it.  
  
"Chance my ass!" Duo snapped again. "This maze is fucking impossible! There is no way we could find our way out of this!" he exclaimed, his hope dwindling down to nothing.  
  
Now it was Trowa's turn to object. "Duo! Listen to yourself! Do you want to just give up? Leave Quatre out there all alone?" he asked Duo, but in fact he was asking all of them.  
  
When none of them answered, he carried on.  
  
"Look, the Quatre I know would do everything in his power to help us no matter what. I'm sure right now he's trying to think of a way to save us. You all know that he won't give his injuries a second thought while we're out here. I don't know about you guys, but I am going to keep looking for him. And when I find him I'm going to do whatever he tells me, because if anyone can get out of this mess, it's Quatre." Trowa then abruptly walked down the path that Heero and Duo came from. "I don't care if you follow or not. Right now all I'm concerned about is finding my partner." he added as he kept walking.  
  
The others were shocked as his sudden meaningful statement.  
  
But Duo shook out of it. "Hey! Wait up, Tro! I'm going with you!" He then dashed down the path, braid swishing behind him.  
  
Heero and Wufei glance at one another for a moment before they too ran after Trowa.  
  
What he had said made perfect sense.  
  
Quatre wouldn't leave them behind.  
  
So they weren't about to leave him behind.  
  
~*~  
  
TBC  
  
I repeat: Tee hee ^_^  
  
Later! 


	8. How can I help them!

I hope you guys are in the mood for some fire works...  
  
Enjoy!  
  
~*~ chapter 8 ~*~  
  
No one could say how long they had been wandering through the labyrinth, but it was obvious that it was getting to everyone.  
  
The endless white paths and tall walls almost seemed to be teasing them as they constantly led them in the wrong direction.  
  
More than once Wufei and Duo would crack under the pressure and start an argument over some small matter.  
  
But they had to always settle it quickly because Trowa kept moving on, undeterred by the constant dead ends.  
  
After a long path way that lead to a corner, they met up with three doors with a question written above them, and the answer written one on each door.  
  
This raised their spirits a bit.  
  
"Alright! Something new for a change! This must mean we're getting closer to the center!" Duo chirpped, this being the best mood he has been in hours.  
  
The others ignored his rambling and read the question.  
  
"In the medieval times, a great battle was fought in which King Arthur finally was killed. What caused his death?" Heero read out loud.  
  
"What the hell kind of question is that?" Wufei grunted, not having a clue.  
  
Trowa frowned at the raven haired boy. "One that Quatre would probably know without even trying... Let's read the choices.." His green eyes looked to the first door. "Lancelot stealing Excallaber...." He looks to the middle door. "Guinevere shot him with an arrow..." He then looks at the last door. "Struck down as a last effort by a dying Modred..." After looking at all of the choices, Trowa wracked his brain. "Damnit, it's been so long since I've been over this subject.... I can't remember.. All of the answers sound possible...." he grunted in annoyance.  
  
He held his head, and knew that Quatre would know the answer to this question. Medieval times was one of his, many, best subjects.  
  
"Well I sure as hell don't know. How 'bout you, Hee?" Duo asked, everything looking about the same to him.  
  
Heero shook his messy brown head. "I don't know a thing about that time era. I never thought it would be important..." His cobalt eyes looked over the question and the doors once more. "Although, now I wish I had.."  
  
Trowa, still trying to think, suddenly remember something that had happened about two months ago.  
  
*~flash~*  
  
Sitting in the library, Trowa looked over the poetry book he was reading over to his partner who was curled up on the couch reading a very thick book. By the looks of it, the blonde seemed to be near the end of it.  
  
"Quatre, what are you reading?"  
  
The blonde looked up from his book to his friend. "Oh a book on the history of King Arthur. It's quite sad.. He did so much for so many, and all of it was taken away from him in such a short time..." Quatre said with a deep sigh.  
  
Trowa blinked at him curiously. "Oh, what happened?"  
  
"He was fighting a battle to protect his kingdom, but as soon as he struck down his enemy, the guy kills Arthur as sort of a last effort thing."  
  
"Hm.. What was the guy's name?"  
  
"Modred."  
  
*~flash~*  
  
Trowa's eyes lit up, but they grew wide when he saw that Wufei was moving to the wrong door.  
  
"This is insane, let's just try them all." The Chinese reached out and jerks the door open.  
  
"Wufei, no! That's the wrong door!!"  
  
~*~  
  
As he leaned against the white walls heavily, Quatre tried desperately to control his haggard breathing. His chest was on fire, and his vision would black in and out, but he pushed himself to keep going.  
  
"Well... This isn't so bad... At least I'm alive, and I know the others are okay..." he chuckled weakly as his aqua eyes became blurred again.  
  
The moment he had said that, a loud  
  
*BOOM!!!*  
  
echoed through the maze, and shook the very ground he stood on.  
  
Frightened, Quatre faced the way he came to look up to the ceiling, and just over the edge he could see smoke billowing.  
  
Quatre fell to his hands and knees as realization hit him. "Oh God no! They must have answered a question wrong!!" he cried out heart broken.  
  
His blonde head bowed, and his shoulders shook as he cried, making the pain in his chest almost double. "How could they have not gotten that question?! I was just there an hour ago, and I know I've told Trowa the answer before!" he asked the floor miserably.  
  
Now glaring in anger at the floor, his mind began to tear at him for not being able to help them. "Damnit!! What can I do?! I should be able to help them! Guide them, something! I can't stop moving or I'll fall unconscious, but there's gotta be a way to let them know where I am!!!" He raised a fist in the air, and slammed it into the ground. This actually made his mind think of something other than the wound in his chest.  
  
But soon the pain returned, and Quatre's breath came in quick short gasps. He could feel where the wound in his chest had reopened when he struck the floor.  
  
But he ignored it.....  
  
Until he saw a small drop of blood drip through the tear in his uniform. It splattered against the white floor, and showed up brilliantly. The blonde boy stared at it in fascination, and then he knew what he could do.  
  
In no time Quatre tore off his uniform jacket and under shirt.  
  
He was going to give the others a sign to follow.  
  
Even if he had to write it in blood.  
  
~*~ TBC  
  
Oh my....  
  
Later! 


	9. What is he doing!

Dear me, what will happen?  
  
Enjoy!  
  
~*~ chapter 9 ~*~  
  
After sluggishly getting off the ground form where he had been thrown against the wall, Duo coughed as the thick smoke swirled around him. "Damn... *cough* Now I know what the guy meant when he said we'd wanna answer them right the first time..." His violet eyes then try to look through the smoke for his friends. "Trowa? Heero?? Yo, Wufei!! Is everybody okay?!" he called out, worry tingeing his voice.  
  
No sooner than he said that.  
  
"Damnit, Duo! I'm right behind you, idiot, and you're standing on my hand!" Heero growled out from the floor.  
  
He blinked before Duo looked down to see a hand under his boot. "Oh shit!" The braided boy quickly side stepped away from his partner. "Sorry, man. You okay?" he askd with an apologetic smile as he offers to help him up.  
  
He took the offered hand with his good one, and soon Heero stood up. "Other than being blasted into a wall, and you stepping on me, I'm fine." he grunted sarcastically. "Where are Trowa and Wufei?"  
  
Duo quickly waved his hands to clear the smoke away from his face. "I don't know, dude.... I hope they're okay..."  
  
Carefully, the boys moved forward to where the doors were. Soon the smoke cleared enough to where they could see that the door Wufei had been at was blown to pieces.  
  
That worried the two more.  
  
"That can't be good...." Duo mumbled. "Trowa! Wufei! Where the hell are you guys!?!" he shouted out as he looked all around for them.  
  
"....*cough*... Over... *cough cough*.. Here, Duo..." a strained voice choked out from the corner of the corridor.  
  
Heero was the closest to that place, so he took off his tank top, and began to use it to fan the smoke away from that area. The smoke slowly moved away, and, when it did, they saw Trowa clutching an unconscious Wufei to his chest.  
  
Dazed gree eyes looked up at the two standing. Trowa coughed more of the smoke out of his lungs as he spoke. "I.. *cough* Was able to push him out of the way when the explosion went off... *cough*..." He looked down at the Chinese boy in his arms. "I think he might have hit his head, but I'm not sure.... Wufei.. Wufei, wake up..." The French boy shook him lightly.  
  
A of onix eyes cracked open, and Wufei hissed out in pain as he reached up to his head. "Unnnn.... Shit, what happened?" he asked as he pulled away from Trowa's arms and sat on the floor.  
  
Trowa folded his arms over his chest, and glared at him lightly. "You opened the wrong door." he snorted.  
  
Wufei looked at him a moment before he stared at his feet. "Oh.... Ummm... So... Which door is it then?" he asked, his cheeks tinted with a light blush.  
  
Trowa snorted again as he stood to his feet and walked over to the third door. When he reached it he grabbed the handle. "Quatre told me that Modred killed King Arthur." With that, he turned the handle and pushed it in....  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
In an instant, Trowa disappeared through the door, and the others were quick to follow.  
  
~*~  
  
After half an hour of twists and turns, and more than one dead end, the four pilots decided to stop for a moment to take a break to collect their thoughts.  
  
They were all silent as they sat, or laid, on the cold white floor.  
  
And they stayed like that for several minutes.  
  
Even Duo.  
  
But, Duo being Duo, was looking around at everything, amusing himself by trying to find at least one thing that was different in the vast space of white.  
  
So far nothing.  
  
Trowa saw the American's wandering eyes go all over the place, and figured that it was something to do to keep your mind preoccupied. So he let his green eyes wander as well, not really sure what exactly he was looking for. As his eyes traveled along the floor to the other end of the long path, just before the path turned into another corner, his eyes caught on something out of place. Curious, he stood up, and walked over to it to investigate it further.  
  
Everyone stirred at the sudden movement, and all eyes were watching the tall pilot questioningly.  
  
"Hey, Trowa, what's up?" Duo asked as he stood up as well.  
  
His gaze fixed on one spot on the floor, Trowa knelt down and touched the floor. When he brought his hand back closer to his face, he saw that it wasn't just his mind playing games on him.  
  
Something red was covering his finger tips.  
  
Puzzled, Trowa stood and looked back to his comrades. "Guys... Are any of you bleeding?" he asked quietly.  
  
They almost didn't hear him.  
  
"Bleeding? No, I don't think so...." Duo looked at Wufei. "Was your head cut from that explosion?"  
  
Wufei blinked, and reached up to where a fair sized knot was left over from his last rash decision. "No... No I'm sure that it's not... Heero?" Wufei looked to the stoic pilot.  
  
The Japanese shook his head. "I'm perfectly fine. Why do you ask, Trowa? Did you find something?" Heero questioned as he moved closer to Trowa.  
  
He nodded. "Yeah.. I'm certain it's blood, but none of us are bleeding, so..."  
  
Everyone looked at each other, and all at once...  
  
"Quatre!!"  
  
"Quatre must have came through here!" Duo exclaimed, not sure whether to be happy or worried.  
  
Trowa nodded again, but frowned. "Yes, but this has been here for a while.... It was nearly dry when I touched it..." he stated as he looked at the red smear on the white floor.  
  
That made all of them frown.  
  
But as Duo was looking at the floor, he instantly saw something peeking out from behind the corner at the end of the path. "Hey! look there!" he shouted out. Before the others could say anything, he was running around the corner.  
  
When he was out of sight, the others soon heard a loud gasp, and saw Duo backing up.  
  
Worried, the other three all rushed forward to join Duo. They looked to where Duo's wide violet eyes were staring, and all of them froze at what they saw.  
  
There, in the floor, was the blood stained uniform jacket that Quatre had been wearing when he was shot.  
  
But that wasn't all.  
  
Written up above the jacket in bright red letters was the word 'follow', and next to it was a red hand print pointing down the path.  
  
After they all stared in shock at the wall, Duo closed his eyes tightly, and covered his mouth with his hands. "My God... What the hell is he doing?!!" he exclaimed through his hands as he desperately fought back the tears.  
  
The others were silent, but Trowa was deeply touched by this. "He... He must have gotten worried when he heard the explosion..." His deep green eyes misted over. "So he reopened his wounds to be able to give us a sign of where he was going in order to help us...." His teeth gitted, Trowa looked away quickly, and tried to regain control over himself. But when he glanced down the path, he saw another red hand print pointing at the path that went to the right.  
  
He gave a small sad smile, and closed his eyes and sighed. ~Little one.. You are far too giving...~  
  
His green eyes opened, and his expression turned serious once more. "Come, guys, let's not waste this sacrifice Quatre is making for us."  
  
Suddenly Heero stood next to the French boy, also seeing the next hand print. "Yeah... If we move fast enough we can catch up to him before he loses too much more blood."  
  
They looked wordlessly to each other, then at the two behind them.  
  
They all nod, and in no time they dashed down the path, moving as fast as they could.  
  
~*~  
  
Now practically stumbling over his own feet, Quatre could barely walk, but he tried as best he could to ignore all of it. His chest was burning with every breath he took, and his vision was blurring to the point where he could hardly see two steps in front of him.  
  
But he wasn't going to stop.  
  
~The other's need me to be strong... I'm doing this for them... All of this was my doing... They have to make it out alive...~ was the thoughts that kept his worn out body moving forward.  
  
Although, he wasn't even sure he was moving at all.  
  
Almost running into another wall, Quatre blinked in surprise when he saw a fork in the path in front of him. To him there seem to be five paths, but when he closed his eyes tightly for a moment, then opened them again, he realized that their was only two.  
  
~That isn't good... I'm beginning to become delirious...~ his tired mind thought out slowly. It was becoming harder and harder for him to concentrait on anything.  
  
He shook his blonde head slightly, and forced himself to look back at the paths, reminding himself that there was only two. "Which way..... Which way is it?" He closed his eyes for a moment, and silently searched with his soul for where he thought Carlton would be. His clouded aqua eyes slowly opened, and he raised his hand to his chest. His palm pressed against his wound in his thin chest tightly, he lets out a choked scream from the pain.  
  
~Shit! It hurts more and more everytime...~ He forced back his tears as best he could.  
  
It was hard enough to see without them.  
  
After a very painful moment, Quatre removed his blood stained hand, and limped over to mark the left path. When he was sure that the print could be seen, he then limped his way down the path.  
  
How long, he couldn't tell, but it seemed like eternity until he got to the end of the path where it turned to the right. Once he turned the corner, he smiled weakly at what he saw.  
  
Another question, and three more doors.  
  
He tried to make his way towards it, so he pushed himself more than ever. "It's... it's that last one... I made it... I made it through the labyrinth...."  
  
He was almost there, but suddenly his legs completely buckled from under him, and he fell heavily to the floor.  
  
It took him a moment to realize that he had even fallen...  
  
But when he did tears poured from his eyes.  
  
"No... I made it... This is the last door!.... I can't lose now.... The others are depending on me!...." he cried out miserably.  
  
He tried to get up with every ounce of strength he had, but it was no use.  
  
He couldn't even move.  
  
Crying, Quatre laid there on the cold white floor, and stared at the final question that loomed over him like it was taunting him.  
  
Before he completely blacked out, he was able to make out the question. "During the American civil war in 1861-1865 A.D. the states were divided..... and even families separated to join opposite sides... What was said by both sides that made it the most horrible in America's history?... Oh, Carlton... Why that question?...."  
  
The blonde then past out, but, even unconscious, the guilt invaded Quatre thoughts.  
  
And that was more painful than his wounds could ever be.  
  
~*~ TBC  
  
Do you know the answer? I wonder...  
  
Later! 


	10. He won't be hurt any more

I'm getting close to the end...  
  
Enjoy!  
  
~*~ Chapter 10 ~*~  
  
"Hey guys! I found the ninth question!!" Duo yelled out to the others.  
  
Soon the other three pilots were standing next to Duo, and looking up at the question.  
  
After a moment, Heero looked down at the doors, not even bothering to look at the answers, and saw the middle door had a large red smear going across it. "Come on, we're wasting time!" he shouted out as he grabbed for the handle.  
  
Nearly busting the door down before he even got it all the way open, Heero ran as fast as he could, all the way following the red hand prints where ever they would lead him.  
  
Trowa was able to keep up with the Japanese boy easily, but Wufei and Duo were a few strides behind.  
  
Turning every corner at speeds that would cause a normal person to fall and injure themselves, the four boys were pressed for time, and couldn't afford to be cautious now.  
  
The white walls were finally getting to them, and every path looked the same to them. If it wasn't for Quatre's quick thinking, and kind soul, they would still be lost at the beginning of the giant maze. And his helping them could very well have cost him his life.  
  
But they couldn't think of that.  
  
Now all that was on their minds was saving the blonde boy before it was too late.  
  
Suddenly Heero and Trowa skid to a stop when something horrible caught their attention. When Wufei and Duo stopped, and caught their breath, they too were disheartened at what they saw.  
  
A giant smear of blood that started at the middle of the floor, and went all the way to the left wall. There several red hand prints went up the wall, and continued along until they finally stopped.  
  
"My God... He must have fallen, and dragged himself across the floor.... Then used the wall to help himself up..." Wufei whispered, unable to imagine the pain the blonde boy must be in now.  
  
After looking on at the red mass of the blonde boy's blood, Heero gritted his teeth in anger. Not at Quatre, but in anger toward the man who forced Quatre into this. ~How could he put Quatre through this torture.... If what I saw in the interrogation room was real, then how the hell could this man do this to him?! He should know that Quatre was sincere!~ Having never felt this much anger in such a long time, Heero desperately tried to calm down before he did something rash.  
  
Once he had it under control once more, the normally stoic pilot turned to the others. "Come on, we need to find him as quickly as possible!"  
  
Before the others had a chance to do anything, Heero turned on his heel, and sprinted down the path.  
  
Trowa wanted to move as fast as Heero, but he knew the other two couldn't keep up with that speed.  
  
Before he had to think of it too long, Duo spoke out. "Tro, dude, you catch up with Hee. We'll be right behind ya." the braided American told him with a reassuring wink.  
  
With a small smile, and a nod, Trowa sprinted off as well, leaving Duo and Wufei to run after them as best as they could.  
  
"Come on, Wu. It doesn't matter who gets to Q first, just as long as someone's there for him." Duo said to the Chinese boy to comfort him somewhat.  
  
Wufei didn't give a reply as they ran.  
  
He didn't know what to say.  
  
~I'm not entirely sure that Quatre would want me there for him....~  
  
~*~  
  
Running so fast that all someone could really see were two blurs going by, Heero and Trowa weren't about to stop for anything.  
  
And they had a good reason not to.  
  
Quatre meant a great deal to both of them.  
  
Sure, Duo and Quatre were best friends, but Quatre had connected with the silent pair in a way that no one else had done before.  
  
The blonde was the first person to actually care about them. Quatre was always kind to them, no matter what, and did everything to help them.  
  
Even when they didn't want him to.  
  
Even now Quatre was helping them, and watching out for them. Being on a team, people would expect them to help one another, but...  
  
Using his own life's blood to act as a guide for them was far beyond the call of duty.  
  
And Trowa and Heero weren't about to let Quatre leave them. They weren't there to help him when his father had died, and that resulted in his use of the zero system, but this time....  
  
This time they would be damned if they weren't going to be there for him now.  
  
Further and further, the hand prints led them through the maze. Occasionally they noticed spots where Quatre must have fallen due to the large blood stains on the ground and the wall....  
  
But they pushed it from their minds, and ordered their feet to move faster.  
  
After they ran down another path and came to a fork in the maze, they moved for the left path that was marked. Once they made it to the end of the path, they turned the corner and froze dead in their tracks.  
  
Laid out on the ground in a pool of his own blood was the gentle Arabian boy.  
  
Tears nearly blinding them, Heero and Trowa raced to him, and fell to their knees once they reached him.  
  
Trowa lifted his head into his lap, and gently felt for a pulse. At first he felt nothing, and that terrified him deeply, but then he felt it. It was extremely faint, but it was there all the same. He was able to smile through his tears, and nodded over to a worried Heero.  
  
The stoic boy sighed deeply, then Heero leaned down over the fallen blonde to check his breathing. "He's breathing, but just barely..." He sat up straight, but had a frown on his face. "But he needs medical attention now... What are we suppo-"  
  
Before he could finish, Duo's voice cut through the silence. "Hey, Heero! Trowa! You down there?!"  
  
"Yeah! Hurry up you two! We found him!!" Trowa shouted back before he returned to gently stroking back the silky blonde hair.  
  
In no time the American and the Chinese were skidding to a hault in front of the three in the floor, both in a state of silent shock at what they saw.  
  
His voice coming out in a choked whisper, Duo finally spoke. "I-is.. Is h- he..." His violet eyes were wide in fear and terror as the thought he couldn't say flashed in his mind.  
  
"No, he's still alive, Duo, but we need to get him help as soon as possible, or he will die." Heero stated as calmly as he could.  
  
Duo's mouth was parted slightly in shock, and his eyes zoomed in on the dark red wound in his best friend's pale chest.  
  
~The chances of him surviving a wound like that plus the excessive blood loss are next to none...~ the soldier in his mind quietly told him.  
  
He bit his lip, and the braided boy held in a cry. ~So what am I supposed to do? Give up on him?! Like hell I will!!!~ Duo frowned deeply in determination, and started to take off his black over shirt, and his white undershirt. Now bare chested, he un rolled one of the sleeves of the white shirt and ripped it off the garment.  
  
He then knelt down next to the unmoving body while ripping the sleeve down the middle. "Let's stop the bleeding before he loses any more." he said firmly. His words were punctuated when he ripped off the other sleeve as well.  
  
After they all agreeed to it, the four boys worked as quickly, and as gently, as they could to patch the wound in Quatre's chest. As they knelt around the blonde boy, the four pilots made quick work of using Duo's shirt sleeves and the rest of his shirt as a crude badange to stop the bleeding. They knew it was all that they could do for him at the moment.  
  
Once the bandage was snuggly fitted around the slim chest, Duo carefully wrapped the thicker black over shirt around Quatre's small frame to keep him warm. "There, pal.. That should keep you warm..." Duo ran his fingers through the soft blonde hair, and bit his lip to keep his tears at bay.  
  
Quatre's form stirred at the touch, and hazed aqua eyes fluttered open. Tiredly, he looked around at the faces that were so close to him, and gave a weak smile. "Hey, guys... *cough* I see that found my little signs... How are you? You weren't hurt in that... *cough cough* Explosion, were you?" he asked, worry showing through his pain filled eyes.  
  
The four pilots froze and looked at one another.  
  
Quatre wasn't even thinking of his own well being, but was concerned about his four friends......  
  
And that tore through them like a dull blade.  
  
"Yeah, we're all fine, Q...." Duo tried to smile as best he could. "H-how are you, man? You look kinda rough..." he chuckled half heartedly.  
  
The blonde smiled once more. "Not too bad... I've been patched up with worse than this...." His voice trailed off and his dull aqua eyes sluggishly move to the last question that was still looming overhead. "So we made it to the last question.... Come on..." Quatre tried to help himself up, but the others were quick to stop him.  
  
"Quatre, no, you shouldn't move around when you're injured this badly..." Trowa stated as he tried to gently hold him down where the blonde was propped up on his lap.  
  
Quatre frowned deeply at them. "I know that I shouldn't.... But I have to if we're going to make it out of here together.... Now, please, let me up so I can read the last set of answes...." he asked politely, and hoped they would do it.  
  
Trowa bit his lip at the pleading look in his eyes, so he looked to the others for an answer.  
  
In their minds, all of them knew that Quatre was the only one that could get them out of this, and they would have to move the blonde anyway in order to get him to proper medical attention.  
  
Knowing that it was the only way, they all nodded in agreement, and Trowa looked back down at his awaiting partner. "Okay, Quatre, but please don't over do it... You're too weak from the amount of blood you lost to do much of anything... And let one of us carry you." he lightly ordered the boy.  
  
The Arabian nodded. "That's fine.. Now please help me up.. We're too close to just stop now. "  
  
Slowly, Heero, obviously being the strongest out of all of them, gently gathered the blonde boy in his arms, trying to cause as little discomfort to him as possible. Once Quatre was in the protective care of the silent Japanese pilot, they all moved towards the last three doors.  
  
Quatre's aqua eyes look out on to the last question. He knew that he had already read it, but wanted to be sure of what it was asking. He tried as best as he could, but his blured vision wouldn't allow him to see the last piece of the puzzle. "Someone read the question to me... I can't see it clearly..." he asked softly, in attempts to conserve as much energy as he could.  
  
His voice sounding weaker, they knew that he was fading fast.  
  
Duo tried not to look at him as he read the last question alloud. "During the American civil war in 1861-1865 A.D. the states were divided, and even families separated to join opposite sides... What was said by both sides that made it one of the most horrible in America's history?" The American's eye blinked curiously. "Hey.. I've heard that somewhere before..." he said suddenly, he knew it to be his own country's history.  
  
The other three standing looked towards him in hopes that maybe Quatre could rest a bit more.  
  
"Do you know the answer, Duo?" Trowa asked almost eagerly.  
  
His nervous hand scratched his head. Duo glanced at each one of the doors with a bit of anxiety nagging him. "I think I do... I'm not sure...." His violet eyes went over each question, starting with the one on the left. "I will let no man take my property ..." He read the middle one. "We are men, not aninmals, and we will fight to prove it...." Finally he looked to the last door. "There is no family in war, and I would not hesitate to strike down my own brother...." Duo froze after he read it. After turning sharply, he looked at the broken form of his best friend. "Quatre, is it this one?" he asked hopefully.  
  
He smiled weakly, and Quatre was able to give a slight nod. "That's right, Duo.... Open the last door...." he said in a tired voice.  
  
Duo nodded, and causiously turned the handle of the door. The other three took a step back, and Heero clutched the blonde boy closer to him.  
  
He would not let Quatre be hurt any more.  
  
Slowly, Duo opened the door. Once it was open, Duo's eyes grew in shock, but then narrowed down in a glare at what he found. When the others looked inside as well, their eyes flared in anger when they saw.  
  
There in a room that was pitch black other than one over head light, sitting in a golden throne with a gold bull's head mounted at the top, was Calrton. He looked as if he had been waiting on them.  
  
His brown eyes fixed on them with a cold gaze as they slowly entered the room, and his lips curled into an amused smirk.  
  
"Hello... I see you've made it through my little maze... But now the final test is at hand..." After looking at the helpless boy in Heero's arms, his own eyes flared in anger. "I hope you're ready Quatre. Your answer will decide your friends fates." he growled out, then raised his hand and snapped his fingers.  
  
Before the four pilots could do anything, the door that they had entered slammed shut, and the sounds of weapons taking aim could be heard in the darkness that surrounded the Sergeant.  
  
Alarm struck the trapped pilots, and the four of them moved closer. Duo Wufei and Trowa stood in front of Heero and Quatre without hesitation.  
  
They were going to protect Quatre...  
  
No matter the cost.  
  
~*~ TBC  
  
Ba da da!  
  
Later! 


	11. Quatre!

Oooooo!!!!  
  
I'm getting closer to the end!  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Chapter 11  
  
~*~  
  
As they stood there, the four pilots were at a loss of anything they could do to get out of this trap. The Sergeant had thought out every detail down to the letter. He wasted no moves, and everything that was done had a purpose that led up to this, very uneven, showdown.  
  
But his plan wasn't about to stop here.  
  
He looked over the five boys that were close together. It was obvious that the four that stood cared a great deal for the critically injured blonde. They looked ready to sacrifice their own lives just to keep him brething, even if it was only for a second more.  
  
This touched something inside him, but he roughly pushed it aside.  
  
He had initiated this battle of will and wits between himself and Quatre, and planned on finishing it.  
  
So the Sergeant reguarded them all calmly, and he raised his hand to halt the soldiers that were poised in the darkness, just waiting to fire. "So..." he started slowly. "I'm very impressed with how you handled yourself out there, Quatre... But now the true test begins..." He rised from the throne, stepped to the side, and pointed to it rigidly. "Place him in this throne now, or I will give the order to fire." he ordered Heero, hardly bluffing.  
  
None of the pilots liked this, but a pale weak hand tugged gently at the front of Heero's tank top. When Heero looked down, he was greeted by a pair of clouded aqua eyes.  
  
"Please, Heero... Do as he says.. This is all between him and I... None of you should even be here..." he whispered out, his strength nearly all gone.  
  
Heero frowned deeply, and Quatre was nearly shocked when he saw a glimmer of fear and worry in the deep cobalt blue eyes. "But, Quatre...." he whispered, unsure of how to finish. Everything in his mind nearly screamed not to do it, but what Quatre said was true....  
  
This was his fight, and the blonde seemed set on seeing it through to the end.  
  
Cautiously, the silent soldier stepped forward towards the throne. He ignored the hisses of the others to return, and carefully sat Quatre in the throne. Once he was sure that Quatre was as comfortable as he could be in his current state, he slowly moved back.  
  
When eveything was still, they all looked on at the battered blonde on the throne. His war torn body resting on the gold thrown was a breath taking sight. The way the crimsom liquid that was smeared on his face, and the blood that was already seeping through the white makeshift bandages made him look like some great king who was clinging to his throne no matter what happened to him. Even thought he was barely alive, he looked like a figure of strength in adversity, and it touched the pilots to the core.  
  
This thought did not escape Carlton. He saw everything that the pilots saw, and maybe more. His heart ached to see the young man that he had shared so much with like this.  
  
He had thought of Quatre like one of his own brothers, but his pain outweighed his feelings of friendship.  
  
How he decided what to do with the blonde all depended on how he faired in the next few moments.  
  
"Very good...." he said lightly. He briefly glanced at the four pilots that had brought him his prey. "Now if you'll excuse us, this isn't something for a crowd to see." He raised his hand, and snapped his fingers.  
  
Before the four could blink, all of them were struck sharply by something. When they looked they found that all of them had been hit by small tranq darts. They barely had time to pull them out when Duo collapsed on the ground. As he laid there motionless, the other three felt extremely sluggish.  
  
Their vision blured, and after a few more seconds Wufei crumpled on the ground next to Duo.  
  
Quatre's face was a mixture of shock, anger, and fear as he cried out in sorrow. "Wufei! Duo!" Tears filled his eyes, and it wasn't long before both Heero and Trowa fell to their knees at the strength of the drug that was now pumping through their systems.  
  
They both fought as hard as they could to resist the effects, but, like the other two, Trowa fell unconcious on the cold floor.  
  
"No! Trowa!" Quatre cried out desperately. He wanted more than anything to run to their sides to help them, but it took everything he had just to keep his own head up.  
  
Heero heard a muffled cry from Quatre, and he tried to crawl towards the blonde. "Quatre.... I... I'm sorry..." he was able to gasp out. With the last of his strength, Heero reached out to the blonde just as he too succumbed to the drug, and fell bonelessly to the ground.  
  
"H-Heero!!" Quatre stared wide eyed at his very best friends laying before him on the ground. When none them moved, he searched desperately with his soul to see if they were still alive. Greatly to his relief, him sensed that all of them were very much alive. He looked to Carlton and frowned. "What did you do to them, Carlton?" he asked in as even a tone as he could manage  
  
Calrton looked at him calmly. "Don't worry. They're merely sleeping for now. You said it yourself. This is between you and me. Take them to a holding cell." He suddenly waved his hand, and soon Quatre saw several men come out of the shadows, and carried off the four prone bodies on the ground. Then he saw a box of light where a door had been opened. Soon shadowed figures of men quietly moved out of the door, and finally the door closed.  
  
Carlton and Quatre were alone.  
  
"What are you going to do with them?" Quatre asked. He tried to keep his mind off the possibilities, but they kept appearing bold as ever.  
  
Carlton smirked as he moved closer to him. "I said don't worry. No harm will come to them just so long as you answer the riddle correctly." He got into the pale boy's face and glared at him. "Now are you ready? Remember what's on the line.. The lives of your friends, and your own." he whispered in a cold tone. "And I'll make sure that you live to witness all of them die slowly, and painfully." he added for spite.  
  
The crystal tears kept falling from the pain and sorrow filled eyes as Quatre responded. "Oh, Carlton... What will it take for you to understand? I never wanted to.."  
  
"Enough!" the sergeant snapped hotly as he stood straight. "I don't give a damn what you have to say on your behalf. I just want you to answer the riddle. Now are you ready?" he asked in a low growl.  
  
Quatre winced at his harshness. "As I can be...." he whispered, and waited.  
  
He snorted gruffly. "What throughout history has been the best thing a man could have, but in turn posed a threat to everything that man has ever worked for?"  
  
The blonde bowed his head and took a deep shuddering breath before he let it out. "A trusted friend... Caesar trusted Brutus..... Remus trusted Romulus.... Aurthur trusted Lancelot.... All of it ended in their deaths...." He looked up with a torn expression on his face. "But we don't have to end like that, Carlton! If anything, history has taught us that war is such a fickle thing that they're are no true enemies! That also means there is no such thing as true friends either, but that is our choice to make! Please think about what has happened! Go over everything in your mind, and tell me that an enemy would risk their life to warn the very person they target! Enemies don't don't that, but friends do... I did!" he cried out to him.  
  
Carlton was speechless. Quatre was right about everything...  
  
But Carlton just couldn't make a decision. "Quatre...."  
  
When the blonde made his plea, it used most of his dwendling strength, and now he felt a darkness encroaching on him. His breathing was more ragged, and coughed roughly. When gave a hard choking cough, the sergeant saw the blood that began to run between the dried cracked lips.  
  
"Quatre?" he asked hesitantly.  
  
His eyelids felt like lead weights, but Quatre opened them wide to look at Carlton fully. "Carlton... Please... Believe me.... All I truely wanted... Was.... To be...." He took a deep breath. "Your friend........" The dull Aqua eyes rolled back, and the blonde went limp in the throne.  
  
Light brown eyes shot wide open.  
  
"Quatre!!"  
  
~*~  
  
TBC  
  
Ah...  
  
The dreaded cliff hanger...  
  
Don't you just hate me? ^_^  
  
Just remember this....  
  
Compliments = Me posting the LAST chapter sooner  
  
Flames = me waiting a month (or longer) to get around to posting it.  
  
And you risk me not posting it at all, and I just leave the story there.  
  
So be nice.  
  
Again  
  
Nice = fast  
  
Mean = slow  
  
Get it?  
  
Got it?  
  
Good.  
  
Later! 


	12. Mended friendships

LAST CHAPTER!  
  
Hope you like it.  
  
Enjoy!  
  
chapter 12  
  
~*~  
  
The first thing he felt was a mixture of numbness and pain.  
  
It was odd, but what was even more confusing was that he was laying on something soft, like a bed. He tried to move, but decided against that when he found that it hurt like hell to. When he tried to open his eyes, the sudden light bore into them, and made him hiss sharply.  
  
"Oh? I see that you've finally decided to wake up. That's good. We were afraid that you wouldn't make it there for a while, Mr. Winner." a deep even voiced said lightly.  
  
Quatre didn't recognize it, and now was more lost than before. "Wh-where am I?" he asked nervously as he tried to open his eyes once more.  
  
"You're in a hospital, Mr.Winner. You were brought in about a week ago, and you were suffering from severe blood loss, and a punctured lung from a gunshot wound to the chest. Luckily, the young man who brought you in had the same AB negative blood that you have, and volunteered to do a full blood transfusion. I dare say that if it wasn't for him, you would have surely died in a few hours after we did surgery." the voice stated, and he sounded very astounded by it all himself.  
  
Finally able to stand the bright florescent lights, Quatre looked up to see a doctor standing over his bed. He was rather big, and very dark, but Quatre couldn't look up at him for very long because it made him very dizzy.  
  
His aqua eyes fluttered closed. "What was his name?" he asked curiously.  
  
"He actually didn't give a name. It was very strange, but we didn't have the time to discuss it due to the severity of your injuries. But four other boys have been coming here about every three hours like clock work to check on you. You're very lucky to have such caring friends." the doctor stated honestly.  
  
Quatre opened his eyes once more, but didn't focus on anything in particular. "Hm, yeah, I know." he chuckled lightly.  
  
The doctor smiled at the blonde, then turned from the bed to the door. "Well, I'm going to leave you to your rest. Just buzz the nurse by pressing that little red button on the railing of your bed to your left if you need anything." With that, the doctor quietly left the room, and closed the door behind him.  
  
Now alone, Quatre took note on everything that had happened, and was left with many questions.  
  
"Well... Either I was shot, and dreamed all of that... I still am dreaming.... Or everything did actually happen." he frowned as he named off his choices.  
  
Not for someone to answer, but to hear his own cracked and tired voice say it.  
  
And he was tired.  
  
But for some reason, he felt as if he should stay up. Like something important was about to happen, and he had to be awake for it. It was very strange, but he dismissed it, and went back to surveying the damage that was inflicted. One by one, he carefully tested out all of his muscles. Soon, and very painfully, he found that the only parts of him that didn't feel like they were thrown through a meat grinder was his neck, and his left arm. After this experiment was done with, he wanted to know what his surroundings looked like. Knowing that he was in no condition to sit up, he looked around his bed for the controls he knew would help him to. Luckily, he looked to his left and saw that the controls to his bed were next to him. After a bit of struggle, he was able to grasp on weakly to the small remote that controlled the bed. Quickly, he learned which buttons did what, and in no time was carefully lifting the top half of the bed slowly. Soon Quatre was in a sitting position, and, once he was elevated high enough, his weak left hand let the control slip from his thin fingers.  
  
Now he could add his arm to the rest of the list.  
  
The blonde boy was surprised at how much energy that the simple action used as he breathed slightly faster.  
  
When he was finally able to focus on his surroundings, he was nearly startled at what he saw.  
  
On every available surface, there was either a basket, or a glass vase filled with brightly colored flowers. One of the baskets even had glittery balloons tied to it with yellow ribbon. 'Get well soon' was in big bold letters, and yellow smilie faces decorated the rest of the floating round surface.  
  
Quatre closed his eyes and smirked. "Hn, Duo..."  
  
At that moment, the door slowly cracked open. The movement was caught by the aqua eyes, and he turned his head to see who was coming in.  
  
Soon he saw a pair of onyx eyes. "Wu-Wufei? Is that you?" Quatre's voice was horse, and dry, but it still sounded glad.  
  
The Chinese slowly entered the room. "Yes, Quatre... It's me...." he whispered, seeming to look everywhere except at the blonde in the bed.  
  
It went unnoticed by Quatre, considering his eyes still couldn't focus right. "Hey.. How are you? And the others? Are they back too?" he asked curiously, and wondered if the other had gotten out safe.  
  
Wufei fidgeted nervously under the glazed gaze of Quatre. "We're all fine, Quatre.... Other than a few bruises, none of us were seriously injured.... H-how are you?" His voice wavered, almost afraid to hear it.  
  
"Well, the doctor said that with a lot of rest, I should be fine....." The blonde trailed off for a moment. "Wufei? Could you tell me what happened?"  
  
"I'm not really sure myself...." He had to think for a moment. "None of us knew where we were at first when we all woke up, but we were all here, asleep in the lobby. The only conclusion that we could come to was that you had answered correctly, and that soldier was true to his word..." Wufei trailed off, and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Hey.. If you want, I could go get the others. We're all staying in a hotel just down the street. They should all be there, so I'll just g-"  
  
Quatre cut him short of his rantings. "No, Wufei. I believe you and I have a few things left to discuss." his pale face grew soft and he pointed to a chair that was already near his bed. "Now sit. Don't worry, I'm in no condition to punch you again." he joked.  
  
Wufei's lips twitched into a smile as he sat. "Yes, you're right." He turned to face him fully, and took a deep breath. "Quatre.... I wish to tell you how deeply sorry I am for treating you like I did... The things I said were inexcusable, and I would completely understand if you would like me to be the one to go instead of you." he stated solemnly, his black head bowed.  
  
"Wufei, look at me." He waited for the dark eyes to meet his before he continued. "Wufei, before we were ambushed in the woods, I was about to tell you something. Would you like me to tell you now?"  
  
The Chinese nodded, and prepared himself for what he deserved....  
  
"I forgive you, Wufei."  
  
His head snapped up, and his wide eyes stared blankly. "You what?"  
  
Quatre smiled as best he could. "I forgive you. Wufei, I understand that you can't come up with a real reason for why you did what you did, and I don't really think it matters... We all say things that we don't really mean, or we slip up occasionally. That was just one of those times for you. So don't worry about it. I'm willing to let it go if you are." the blonde stated calmly in an attempt to calm the Chinese down.  
  
Wufei couldn't believe it. "You... You really mean it? You're not angry at me?"  
  
After a weak laugh, the blonde head nodded. "Yes, Wufei, I mean it. All of it is forgiven and forgotten, so there's no need to worry about it anymore." the hazed aqua eyes were able to look on at him seriously, but in a gentle manner. "Wufei, whether you want to admit it or not, you are my friend. And I don't abandon my friends for anything." he told him softly.  
  
He was touched by this, nearly beyond words. His eyes blurred with tears, and he stubbornly scrubbed at his face and forced a smile. "Thank you, Quatre... I'm sorry I didn't realize until now how much of a friend you really were to me... I guess I am a fucking bastard after all.... I had such a strong tie to you, and I didn't even know it until I almost lost you...." he was able to get out without breaking down.  
  
Suddenly, the pale hand reached out to him, and Wufei immediately took in his dark one. The thin fingers curled around it weakly, but it was enough all in it's own. "I didn't mean that, Wufei. I slip up too.... And I'm afraid that what I did makes what you did seem like nothing...." Quatre said sadly as tears came to his eyes.  
  
This confused Wufei. "What do you mean?"  
  
Before Quatre could answer, there was a knock at the door, and soon it creaked open. A figure dressed in a long dark trench coat, also wearing a black hat came sliding into the room. When the figure turned around, it froze in it's track when they caught sight of Wufei. Only hesitating for a moment, a gloved hand reached up and removed the hat.  
  
"You!" Wufei snarled and jumped to his feet when he saw who it was.  
  
It was Sergeant Carlton Hews.  
  
His face was solemn, and he made no move to get into a defensive position. "If you wish to attack me, I will not stop you. It is the least I deserve after what I put you and Quatre through." he stated as he bowed his head and waited.  
  
Wufei was about to take him up on the offer, but a weak hand grabbing onto his arm stopped him. His wide onyx yes looked down at the blonde in bed with a confused expression.  
  
Quatre's eyes were more serious than before, and his tone low and even. "You were not the only one who betrayed a friendship, Wufei... Please, leave us alone. We really need to talk..." he asked of him, almost begged.  
  
He was very reluctant, but after looking at the two in the room, he could tell that this ran far deeper than his petty ranting ever could. He relaxed form his fighting position, and stood straight. "If that's what you want, Quatre. I'll leave you alone."  
  
Quatre smiled softly. "Thank you, Wufei. And please don't tell the others that he is here with me..... In fact I want you to tell the others that I would prefer if this entire thing not be dwelled on. It was my fault, and I can deal with it."  
  
"If that's what you really want, Quatre.." Wufei said reluctantly as he looked to Carlton.  
  
"It is. Now please leave us."  
  
The Chinese nodded calmly, and moved for the door. When he reached Carlton, he stopped and spoke in a whisper to him. "If you do anything else to harm him any way, I will be the least of your worries..." He then looked at him calmly. "If you cause him to even sigh wrong, I would probably have to hold the other three back, and try to convince them all not to use you for target practice." Wufei looked back to the door. "And that's only if I decide not to kill you first." Quietly, he left the room, and closed the door behind him.  
  
Carlton stood still in shock. "My... You've got some very protective friends there...." he coughed out nervously. It was all very uncomfortable for the Sergeant. He had a plan all thought out, but the moment he knocked on the door, his mind was a complete blank as for what to do. "H-how are you doing today, Qua-"  
  
"Sit, Carlton..." His aqua eyes slowly closed, and he bowed his head. "I know why you're here, so please don't make the situation more awkward with idle chit-chat." Quatre stated calmly as he pointed to the chair Wufei had been in.  
  
The man blinked for a moment before he finally sat down.  
  
The tension in the air between them was very thick, but Quatre didn't let that stop him from speaking up. "Carlton... I'd like to thank you...." he said softly.  
  
"What?" Carlton almost choked out. "Thank me? For what? I nearly killed you, and your friends! How could you possibly be thanking me for that?!" he asked in a near shout. ~Maybe he's gone mad from what all I've done to him...~ his mind thought in great sorrow.  
  
Quatre lifted his blonde head and gave a small smile. "But you didn't. You spared our lives, and I am eternally grateful to you for that." The pale face then fell into a miserable expression. "I, on the other hand... I destroyed everything you worked for... Your comrades, your friends... I.. I killed them.. I killed them even when you all took me into your group.. Treated me like a brother more than a lower class officer... You had every right to do what you did to me, Carlton. I can't be angry at you in any way since it was my own actions that made this horrible mess... I can only hope that you'll forgive me some day...." Quatre begged as tears sprang to his eyes once more.  
  
Carlton was at a complete loss of what to say to that. ~How... How could I have ever have doubted him?~ "Quatre.... What you did..."  
  
"Was something to be expected of a monster. What kind of person am I, Carlton?" Quatre cried out suddenly. "What kind of person becomes close friends with many people, then a day later kills them all?!" he voice cracked, but he still went on. "My actions were inexcusable, and I deserve any kind of punishment that you see fit..." With that, he closed his tear- filled eyes, and awaited the worse.  
  
But, instead of the beating, or being shot like he had expected, he felt a gentle hand entwine their fingers with his own. "Quatre... Look at me."  
  
Hesitant aqua eyes fluttered open, and looked on in shock at what was before him....  
  
Carlton was crying.  
  
"Carlton?... Wh-"  
  
A hand was gently place over his mouth to keep him from speaking. "Shh.. I want to talk now.... Quatre, you were right... I can't blame you for everything... We're both soldiers. We must do all that is instructed of us, no matter what it might be.... Quatre, what you did only proves that you are a great soldier. You kept true to your side, but..." the man trailed off for a moment. It was only when he felt a comforting pressure from the weak pale hand did he continue. "But you ignored your training, and took a risk when you decided to become close to myself and the others. And when you found out what your real mission was, you took an even greater risk when you tried to warn me." His hand smoothed back his messy blonde locks, and he smiled sadly down at him. "Quatre, not only are you a great soldier, but you are probably the best friend anyone could ever have.... As far as I'm considered, this is no one's fault... This is only the way life is...."  
  
The blonde boy nodded sadly in understanding. "Yes... Unfortunately, even though I wish we could, there is no way that this friendship can keep going while this war lasts..."  
  
"Yeah.... We're on opposite sides of the chess board..." Carlton mused lightly.  
  
That made Quatre give a light chuckle. "Quite.... So I guess this means that we won't be able to see one another after today...."  
  
Carlton sighed deeply and nodded. "I know.. The possibility is highly unlikely...."  
  
Then their eyes caught.  
  
Aqua stared deep into light brown.  
  
Both could see the sadness of this realization taking its toll on their minds.  
  
Neither wanted to lose the other.  
  
"Carlton... Can you promise me something?"  
  
"Name it."  
  
"After this war, if we both make it... Will you promise me that we will some day meet again?" Quatre asked him in a pleading tone. "I just can't stand the thought of losing a friend like you."  
  
The man smiled. "I promise.. No matter what happens to either of us, we will meet again. And it will hopefully be on much better terms." Then, very tenderly in a brotherly fashion, Carlton leaned over and kissed the pale forehead.  
  
Quatre suddenly felt warm and safe, and he sighed deeply in contentment. "Thank you, Carlton.  
  
"You're more than welcome, little brother.." With that, Carlton turned to leave.  
  
"Carlton?"  
  
He stopped, and turned back to the boy. "What?"  
  
A small smile was on his lips as he asked his question. "You were the one who gave me the blood transfusion, weren't you?"  
  
Carlton smirked at him and gave him a wink. "Hey, what are friends for?" He then opened the door, and left.  
  
As he watched the door close, Quatre oddly didn't feel sad anymore. "I'll see him again..."  
  
Then when he looked to the bed side table, he saw a familiar black leather bound book with a note tied to it with a black ribbon.  
  
Slowly, he was able to reach the book, carefully brought it over, and sat it on his lap. Once he could see it better, he stared in wonder when he saw that it was the book that Carlton had given to him back at the base. Once the initial shock was over, he gently took the note from the black ribbon, and read it.  
  
~Dear Quatre,  
  
I'm writing this in case I wasn't able to voice all the things I wanted to say to you.  
  
I wanted to give you this back. I gave it to you as a friend, and I still want you to have it.  
  
Well, you won, Quatre. In more ways than one.  
  
You made it through the maze, answered the riddle, and survived everything that I threw at you.  
  
Even that bullet.  
  
I don't think I can apologize enough for that, but if I know you like I think I do, you've probably already forgiven me for it.  
  
I don't know if you're a saint, just nuts for it, but either way it doesn't matter.  
  
Remember what you told me in the mess hall that one day?  
  
You had a habit of being able to turn a situation from someone's about to kill you to you suddenly being friends.  
  
I think you've done it again, and not because you're just a fast talking charmer.  
  
You're one of those special people. It doesn't mater who they are, you always give them a chance. And I'm glad that you gave me a chance. You've shown me other possibilities other than what my side has to show. I want to thank you for opening my eyes to a side that I didn't know was there.  
  
Now...  
  
Now I am going to reconsider everything that I've done, or that I will do. You've made me realize how important simple things can be. I think I'm going to visit my family in L-3 the next time I'm on leave.  
  
If you're ever in the area, look them up. I know they would like you.  
  
And if ya happen to be there when I am...  
  
Well wouldn't that be dandy? ^_^ ~  
  
Quatre couldn't help but laugh when he saw that Carlton actually drew a little smilie face on the note.  
  
~I guess all that's left is to say good bye...  
  
I never liked how that sounded, so I guess I won't say it now.  
  
I'll just say see you later.  
  
And we will meet again, little bro.  
  
Count on it.  
  
Until then, I hope you get better soon, and that you'll be out there kicking ass once more.  
  
Even if it is against my side. ^_^  
  
Later,  
  
Carlton.~  
  
Once Quatre had finished the letter, he laid back into the soft pillows of the hospital bed, and sighed.  
  
"Hm.... I wonder when our next mission to L-3 is?"  
  
~*~  
  
THE END!  
  
Well, what did ya think?  
  
Like the ending?  
  
Or was it too blah?  
  
Let me know and I'll fix it!!  
  
Until next time kiddies!  
  
Later!! 


End file.
